The Misadventures of Hogwarts
by thepenguinmasta
Summary: Four friends travel from America to attend school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Note: follows the Harry Potter story line starting from Harry's first year. Its a mixture of the books and movies, but I strive to keep it as accurate as possible!
1. Year 1: The Adventure Begins

_This will be my first ever fan fiction! Please feel free to review and give constructive criticism only please. I'm always open to improving._

"Run!" yelled the red-headed boy sprinting ahead of me.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" I yelled back at him, huffing and puffing trying to keep up.

"Well, run faster!" He suddenly took a sharp left around a large pine tree and I followed suit, trailing as fast as I could behind him. My long, light-brown hair stuck messily to my face with sweat and dirt, which had been stirred up from running in the middle of the woods. I could hear the crunching of dead leaves beneath my feet as we ran and whipped past a mixture of green trees. It was August 30, which meant it was still blazing hot in Northeast Louisiana. Thankfully, it was around seven in the morning so it hadn't quite reached 90 degrees yet and the trees also provided some shade from the sun.

"Not….everyone…..is as athletic…as you…..Devin," I shouted, barely getting my words out between breathes. I should really fit more cardio in my schedule.

"Just follow me," he shouted back, glancing over his shoulder to make sure I was still behind him. I kept as close as I could as he took another sharp turn to the right and made a beeline for a large oak tree. I really hope he doesn't expect me to climb that. Using his momentum he sprinted about five feet up the tree, grabbed onto a branch, and hoisted himself up straddling it. Yep, He expects me to climb it.

I've never climbed a tree in my life. Most people would find this strange, seeing as we live in the South and climbing trees is one of the things children living out in the country are supposed to know. Almost like a rite of passage. Nope, not me. On top of being athletically challenged, I am also scared to death of heights and Devin knew this. I began to wonder if he did this on purpose. He probably did.

I reached the tree, put my hands on my knees attempting to catch my breath, and looked up at him. "Couldn't you find a cave or something?" I questioned, already knowing the answer. He rolled his eyes and reached down, extending his hand towards me.

"Have you ever heard of caves being around here?" he said. "Plus, how are we supposed to successfully hide from a panther on the ground?"

"Well they climb trees too, Mr. Know-it-all," I said with a bit of spite.

"You know, we wouldn't even be in this mess right now, if it weren't for you getting us lost." He said back.

"I told you, I thought it was a shortcut!"

"Yeah, right into a sleeping panther! I can't believe you actually stepped on its tail!"

"Well, maybe it should find somewhere else to sleep."

"Maybe, you should've listened to Brooke and stayed on the right path."  
Both of us halted our movements, however, at the wailing of, what sounded like, a woman screaming. We both looked at each other and I panicked, all fear of heights forgotten.

"Pull me up! Pull me up! PULL ME UP!" I yelled quickly grasping a hold of his rough hand. I placed my right foot onto the bark of the tree and launched my weight upward into him. He grabbed the back of my shirt and guided me to the opposite branch, which I straddled. Amazing how fast you can learn to climb a tree in a life threatening situation. Although, now as the initial panic wore off I remembered I was about ten feet up in a tree. Not high at all for most people, but for someone who doesn't even like standing on a kitchen chair to get something out of a cabinet, it's terrifying.

"Thanks," I said looking over at him. He simply nodded and looked in the direction that the wailing came from.

"Did you see which direction Brooke and Jeremiah ran?" I whispered.

He quickly shushed me and turned his head to left, looking past me. I turned my head as well and listened closely. I heard the frantic sound of rustling leaves, and the panic that had recently dissipated returned. Both of us sat alert, still, and holding our breath, in hopes that a giant, black cat didn't emerge from the foliage.

Bursting through the spaces between the trees, running at full speed, were Brooke and Jeremiah. Brooke was running ahead of Jeremiah, her shoulder-length brown hair whipping behind her and her hands flailing around in the air. The definition of grace. Jeremiah was trailing behind her, the wind brushing his brown hair against his head and a mixture of fear and laughter on his face. One of the oddest expressions of ever seen. The sight would've been hilarious if they weren't running for their lives. Who am I kidding? It was absolutely hilarious!

"Hey!" I shouted, attempting to get their attention and simultaneously holding back laughter. They both skidded to a stop and looked around trying to figure out the source of the noise. Devin cocked his head and looked at me like I was a moron for shouting when there was a large, wild cat looking for us.

"Look!" Jeremiah said pointing to Devin and I in the tree. They jogged over toward us and stopped at the base of the tree looking upwards, squinting their eyes a bit from the sun.

"Is it gone?" asked Devin.

"Yeah," said Jeremiah, "I think we lost it back there. Brooke tried using her wand on it, of course all it did was just spit out a bit of smoke."

"The smoke confused it enough to where we could get away, at least," Brooke said grinning, a little proud of herself. Jeremiah just shook his head in disbelief that we had made it out of there alive.

"Ok, if you're done trying to get us killed, Kristin, I think we need to head to the Portkey." Said Jeremiah. "No detours this time!"

"Heh, can't make any promises," I said winking at him.

Devin swung his leg over the tree, climbed down a ways, and then jumped down the rest of the way. Everyone else looked at me, expecting me to do the same. Nope. Not going to happen. They better figure out a way to get me out of this tree.

"I guess we'll just leave her here then," said Devin beginning to walk off.

"NO!" I shouted. I stood up quickly on the branch and lost my mind for a split second. I jumped. I may be afraid of heights, but I'm even more afraid of a panther climbing up this tree and nomming on my leg.

Devin had a split second to look back, and with a face full of absolute horror at my majestic body flying towards him and had no time to react. I landed right on top of him with an "oomph." Brooke and Jeremiah busted out laughing, as I sat up on top of his back, rubbing my stomach where I had landed. I heard Devin groan and look back at me glaring daggers. I gave him a goofy grin and both of us joined Brooke and Jeremiah in there laughing fit.

"I can't believe we actually got chased by a panther," Brooke said through tears of laughter. "Seriously, Kristin, only you would get us into this mess!"

"Hey, I'm not the only one who gets us into messes! What about that time you thought that skunk was a cat and wanted to play with it? We stunk for days!"

"Details, details," she said waving her hand.

"You know, it'd be really great if you got off my back," said Devin.

"I'm surprised she didn't break it, with her big butt," teased Jeremiah. He extended his hand out and helped me up.

"Oh no," I said just remembering something.

"What now?" asked Devin, dusting himself off.

"Well, when we were running we dropped all of our luggage…..including the animals."

"Oh no…"Said Brooke.

Mr. Bobbles, my barn owl, was going to be absolutely furious with me for abandoning him, in his cage, in the middle of the woods. Thankfully the panther didn't pay any attention to the animals when we dropped everything and ran. After all a few small animals, compared to four 11 year olds, I'm sure we looked much more appetizing. Sighing at the inevitable pecking that awaited me when I eventually opened his cage, I dusted myself off and we headed back towards the spot where we had met the panther.

When we arrived our brown trunks laid strewed about on the ground, with the animals near them. When Mr. Bobbles spotted me, he flapped his wings and screeched his disdain. I knelt down to his eye level and attempted to give him a sad puppy dog face. He wasn't falling for it. In fact, I think I made it worse. He stopped flapping his wings and actually turned away from me. My pet owl, was ignoring me.

"Sorry Mr. Bobbles, I know I shouldn't have dropped you like that and ran off," I said sadly. "On the bright side you could think of me as being bait and leading the panther away from you." At that he turned around and screeched at me again. "OK, OK, I get it," I said.

"Well, are we ready to go," asked Brooke.

I looked up and fell over laughing. She had claw marks all over her face. If there was one thing about her cat Megie, it's that she has a temper. One reason I don't like cats, also the fact that I'm allergic, so that's fun too. However, I've been around Megie for several years, and I've developed a kind of immunity towards her.

"I actually think that's an improvement," snickered Jeremiah, picking up his trunk and Speckled Owl, Bilbo.

"ANYWAYS," Brooke said loudly, interrupting mine and Jeremiah's laughter, "We need to get going. It's already 7 AM, Mrs. Wesley was expecting us by now."

"You're right," I said picking up my own trunk and Mr. Bobbles, "she's probably worried sick."

"So, who exactly are we staying with again?" asked Devin.

"Molly and Arthur Weasley," I answered. "My family's ancestry lies in England, just like yours lies in Ireland, Jeremiah's in Wales, and Brooke's also in England. That's the main reason we were given the choice to attend either Ilvermorny or Hogwarts. However, even though my older sister and I are half-blood's now, because my mother married a muggle, we shared a pureblood ancestry most closely linked with the Weasley family. So not only are our families close friends, they're distantly related as well. To be honest all purebloods are related in some form or fashion."

"This is so confusing. I'm just not used to all of this blood status stuff," he said sighing walking off.

"Well, since your No-Maj born, it's going to take some getting used to," said Jeremiah, trailing after him.

"You might as well, get used to calling them muggles now, Jeremiah," I said. "We're going to be living in England and Scotland, for about 7 years. Minus our summers of course."

"True," he said in reply. "That'll take some getting used to as well."

"Seriously though, finding out you're a wizard when you've never even considered the possibility that magic actually existed, is pretty confusing in itself," said Brooke.

"It's been very overwhelming," said Devin, continuing on the correct path towards the portkey. "It does explain why nothing electronic, worked in our house very well. I feel sorry for my mom though, all those times she spent trying to get the T.V. to work properly."

I laughed and said, "Yeah, that's the whole reason we needed to take a Portkey, instead of an airplane. Four underage wizards would definitely screw up the navigation system. That wouldn't be good when you're in the middle of an ocean."

"So how exactly does this portkey work?" asked Devin.

"Basically, you take an object that a No-Maj wouldn't easily pick up, like an old shoe or tin can, place it where a No-Maj can't easily find, like in the middle of the woods, and when everyone grabs onto it it transports you to a predetermined place. Our portkey will take us directly to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's house. To travel internationally by a portkey, both Ministries of Magic of each country have to approve it. Unfortunately it's not the most pleasant way to travel, but it gets the job done," answered Brooke.

"I'm so proud of you," I sniffed dramatically, "sounding all smart and what-not."

"This coming from the girl that, not only got us lost, but almost got us killed by a wild panther!" she fired back.

"Y'all should really have some signs up or something. I mean this is y'all's land an all"

"You should really grow a brain."

"….This hurts me deeply, Brookie Cookie. Like, I feel this in my soul," I said clutching my heart dramatically.

"Hey, is this the portkey?" Jeremiah asked. We looked down at what he and Devin had come to a stop in front of and saw he was pointing at an old umbrella. It was black, tattered and at the end of its pole was a brown, wooden, hook-shaped handle. I'm thankful they decided to use something that all four of us had room to hold on too.

"I HATE traveling by portkey," said Brooke groaning.

"Why?" inquired Jeremiah.

"I giggle for about ten minutes afterwards. It always makes my cheeks and sides hurt after all of the giggling," she said. She had her eyes closed, most likely mentally preparing herself for the fit of laughter about to befall her.

"Um….why do you laugh?" asked Devin with a confused look.

"It's one of the side effects of traveling by portkey," answered Jeremiah. "Along with nausea, giddiness is also a side effect. Very rarely is does anything worse happen."

"Wait. Hold up," Devin said, put his hands up in front of him. "What do mean, 'worse?'"

"Weeelll, every once in a while you might end up with a limb attached somewhere else on your body where it's not supposed to be," I answered. A mixture of confusion and fear plagued Devin's face. Oh no. He was not happy about this at all.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" I tried to reassure him, patting him on the back, "…Maybe." Before he could open his mouth to protest I interrupted him, "Ok, let's get going!"

We rearranged our luggage in a way that we could carry them in one hand. The handle or our trunks were leather, so it gave us enough leeway to where we could slip our wrists under them comfortably and the hold on the cages of our animals with our hands.

I was rather thankful that the trunks were made of a soft, durable leather, like the handle, so if they fell on top of us when we landed it wouldn't hurt as badly. The trunks were maroon with golden ridges for decoration and they also had each person's initials on them. What was really amazing about them though, was the Extension Charms. They make the interior of the trunks much larger, to be able to fit clothes, books, cauldrons, etc., but they don't change the outer appearance of the trunk. The charm also makes them very light, so they aren't difficult to carry. Pretty useful if your traipsing through the woods looking for a portkey.

After everyone had finally gotten their luggage comfortably settled, we each latched onto the portkey. This portkey was triggered by touch instead of being set at a predetermined time like others. MACUSA (The Magical Congress of the United States of America) as well as The Ministry of Magic were cautious enough to charm it by touch because we're children. Children are not known for their punctuality, so if by any chance we were late, which we were thanks to me, we wouldn't miss our portkey.

Devin finally, but cautiously wrapped his hand around the wooden handle. The immediate feeling of a hook, right behind my bellybutton, pulled me inwards. I felt the spinning, but kept my eyes closed because I knew I would see nothing but clouds and it gave me the sensation of being high in the air. The wind rushed around me, constantly throwing my hair into my face, and I griped the umbrella tightly.

After about five minutes, I felt the portkey started to get warm. To ensure that witches and wizards got off at the correct location, the portkey would become hot to the touch. If you held on for too long, it would burn your hand forcing you let go. While painful, it was incredibly useful for those who were using it for the first time and were too overtaken by the sensation to concentrate on when to let go. I was glad we had explained this to Devin beforehand so he wouldn't have his hand burned like I did the first time I used one.

The portkey grew warmer by the second and when it finally reached a temperature where I could no longer hold on, but not yet hot enough to burn me, I let go. My stomach sunk as I was sucked backwards and thrown to the ground with a thud. My left arm was resting out from my body very sore from having to hold onto both my trunk and Mr. Bobbles.

Speaking of Mr. Bobbles, he looked a little worse for wear. His feathers were ruffled and he looked a bit drunk. Abandoning him in the woods and traveling by portkey all in one day, he was not going to be happy with me for a least several days. Hopefully, letting him out of his cage would be a start. However, I figured letting him calm down for a bit would be best right now. He may try and bite me, if I wasn't too careful.

Taking in my surroundings, I found myself lying face up on soft green grass staring up at the bright blue sky. The sun had just past the middle of the sky, so I knew it was after noon. England and Louisiana had a six hour time difference. Ahead of me lay an overgrown garden as well as small blue frog pond. A low, brick, garden wall lay just beyond the pond and behind it was a medium-sized orchard filled with peach trees. The trees were green with juicy round peaches and looked like they had recently been pruned.

One of the things I loved about coming to visit the Weasley's was the orchard. The smell and sight just reminded me of home. The Weasley's often used it to practice for Quidditch during the summer, but whenever I had felt home sick that is where I went. Where we live there's actually an annual Peach Festival. The town comes alive as vendors set up downtown, the parade rides through the city waving at children and throwing candy and, not to mention, the peach flavored ice cream. Yum! The orchard was absolutely gorgeous in the spring. The trees would flower and turn pink and I loved to just lay out in the sun in the middle of a pink ocean. Beyond the orchard lay a vast sea of golden wheat mixed with channels of water and reeds. The field stretched far and wide over the rolling hills and surrounded the large property.

I let go of Mr. Bobbles' cage and unhooked my wrist from my trunks. As I stood up to brush myself off, I could hear the nearby thuds of Jeremiah, Brooke, and Devin entering the garden. I saw all of them looked rather frazzled from the journey, and I probably looked no better myself.

"Are you ok?" I asked Devin, extending my hand to help him up.

"Perfect," he answered sarcastically.

I looked over to Jeremiah helping up a giggling Brooke. Hopefully, the fits of laughter would wear off soon.

"Wow!" exclaimed Jeremiah, looking behind him at the house. "That's….wow!"

The Weasley's house, The Burrow, was several stories tall, with mismatching rooms that had been added on over the years for their growing family. Several chimneys were perched on top of the roof, and it was so crooked that it was held up by magic.

I had always loved the Weasley's home because of how uniquely built and welcoming it was. Of course what made it truly welcoming, were the family themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had seven children: Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred and George (twins), Ron, and Ginny. Ron was my age so we were always pretty close with each other. One thing that everyone noticed about the Weasley's though, was that each of them had flaming red hair. Devin would fit right in with them. Maybe he's a long lost cousin or something.

"There...haha….house is…hahaha….amazing!" Brooke said in between fits of giggling.

"You know," said Devin, "It all seemed like just a dream until now. About me begin a wizard and everything I mean."

"Your right, this is a huge step for us," I replied. "It's like the beginning of an adventure. It's like the beginning…"

"…Of the rest of our lives," continued Jeremiah in awe.

"Well, let's go!" I said excitedly!

We gathered up our luggage and headed off in the direction of The Burrow.


	2. Year 1: The Burrow

The closer we got to the house the more I picked up the pace, excited to see everyone. We reached the Dutch split door and right when I extended my hand to knock on the door, it flew open and a wave of curly red hair almost knocked me down with a tight hug.

"Kristin, dear, you're here!" squealed Mrs. Weasley. She backed up and waved her finger at me with a stern look. "Where HAVE you been! I've been worried sick!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Weasley," I said with an apologetic smile. "We got a little…lost." There was absolutely no way I was telling her about the panther.

"Well, never mind," she said sighing with her hands on her hips. "I'm just glad you're here and safe. Now, introduce me to your guests."

"Oh!" I said, finally remembering they were right behind me. I gestured to each of them in turn and said, "This is Brooke Landers, Jeremiah Pritchard, and Devin Skipper. Everyone, this is Mrs. Weasley and I'd wager she's the best cook in all of Great Britain." I may or may not have been getting some brownie points in with that one. I didn't want her sending a letter to my parents about being late did I? They were already worried enough about me being in a foreign country without them, I didn't need to drop this into the pile.

Mrs. Weasley turned her head hiding a slight blush. She knew exactly what I was up to. Gaining her composure back she looked at us and moved to the side to let us in the kitchen.

"Well, come in, come in," She said. "Our home is your home, so don't be shy!"

Brooke, Jeremiah, and Devin all greeted her as they passed and she hugged each of them, although Devin just awkwardly half-hugged her. Devin wasn't big on physical contact with people, the only exceptions being his mother and grandparents. I was a very affectionate person and was determined to break him from this. Seriously, who doesn't like nice, warm hugs? Its barbaric I tell you!

I smirked as I heard the others gasp at the interior of the home. Although cluttered, it was very warm and welcoming. There were cabinets along the walls littered with dishes and cookbooks such as _Charm Your Own Cheese_ , _Enchantment in Baking_ , and _One Minute Feasts_. On the right side of the room there was a rocking chair angled towards the sink, where Mr. Weasley often sat to keep Mrs. Wesley company while she cooked. In the sink by the door, Mrs. Weasley had charmed the dishes to wash, dry, and put themselves away. They were floating around the room going into the different cabinets, so you had to duck if you didn't want to get hit by a stray dish. Across the sink sat an old wood burning stove, on top of which sat a large pot of boiling water and bowl full of fresh vegetables sitting on the cabinet next to it. In the middle of the room stood a large table with mismatching chairs, big enough to seat nine people, and on top of the table were four glasses of milk and a small pile of finger sandwiches.

"It's not much but, its home," Mrs. Weasley said smiling carefully. I could tell she was nervous about their reactions upon entering the house.

"This. Is. Amazing," said Brooke turning to her and laughing at the flying dishes. Devin and Jeremiah, had yet to pick their jaws up off of the floor.

"OH!" she said blushing. "Well, then….Would you like a snack? I knew you were probably full from breakfast and dinner's not quite ready yet, so I figured you'd like a snack."

Finally snapping out of their daze at the mention of the word "snack", the boys immediately sat down at the table.

"Seriously!?" Brooke scolded with her hands on her hips. "At least tell Mrs. Weasley thank you!"

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," they said in unison, not hesitating to begin stuffing their faces. Running through the woods had given us all quite the appetite.

"I wasn't trying to be rude but, I've never seen anything like this before," said Devin.

"Oh, that's completely fine, dear!" she said ecstatically. "You've been living your life as a muggle after all! I'm sure it's quite a culture shock!"

"Honestly," said Jeremiah, "it's quite a bit of shock to us as well. There are so many No-Maj-I mean muggles, where we live that, our houses have to blend in with there's. Ours parents have never really, been able to openly practice magic."

"Well, then this will be a new and exciting experience for all of you!" she said cheerfully, clapping her hands together. "Now girls, you look rather peaky, sit down and eat please."

I sat down at the table next to Jeremiah and Brooke sat next to Devin across from me. The first drink of milk was pure bliss. I never realized how thirsty I was until I actually drank.

"Now, let me just call the boys to fetch your bags, for you." She walked out of the room and into the adjoining living room. "BOYS! COME DOWN TO THE KITCHEN PLEASE!"

The sound of thundering feet could be heard coming down the stairs and rounding the corner were four excited faces.

"Mum, why didn't you tell us they were here earlier," groaned Ron.

"Well, I thought they might like to eat in peace for a moment after their journey without you lot hovering over them," she shot back.

"C'mon, mum, you act like we're spectators at a zoo or something!" said one twin.

"You know, Fred, that's actually not a bad idea," said the other with a mischievous grin.

"George, I like the way you think! We could charge people a five Galleons to view the strange American wizards. Don't worry though, we'll feed you with some of the prophets," said Fred.

"Make the food fried chicken and we have a deal!" I laughed. "Glad to see you two haven't changed one bit."

"Oh, that's where you're wrong Kristin," said George. "See I've got this mysterious rash that's cropped up right on my-"

"GEORGE!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"It's good to see you again, Kristin!" said the youngest Weasley. Ginny was hardly noticeable between the large stone wall, and her tall brothers.

"Hi Ginny!" I said jumping up and giving her a hug.

"Oh, so the rest of us don't get hugs?" pouted George.

"Well, I don't want you to catch your rash," I said hugging Ginny even tighter.

"Touché," he said bowing dramatically.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to join the rest of the rabble," said Fred looking to the stairs. Walking down the stairs all dignified-like was the third eldest Weasley, Percy.

"Kristin," he said nodding his head in my direction trying to act mature. Really he was just making a fool of himself.

I crossed my arms and put a grouchy expression on my face, "Percy."

Everyone laughed and Percy's ears turned red in slight embarrassment. Even Mrs. Weasley was trying to hide a chuckle. Percy had always been a tad snooty, but he seemed like he was just trying to prove something right now.

"Well, since everyone's here now, I think proper introductions are in order," said Mrs. Weasley. "These are Kristin's friends Brooke Landers, Jeremiah Pritchard, and Devin Skipper. They'll be joining you at Hogwarts this year, so make them feel welcome."

After all of the Weasley's introduced themselves, Mrs. Weasley ordered George, Fred, Ron, and Percy to take our bags upstairs to our rooms. The rest of us sat back down at the table to finish the snack Mrs. Weasley had made for us.

"Devin and Jeremiah, you'll be staying in Bill's room and Brooke and Kristin, you'll be staying in Charlie's room." said Mrs. Weasley.

"Yay!" I exclaimed happily. "Mrs. Weasley you know me too well."

"Well, I knew you'd like to peruse through Charlie's journals." she said smiling.

"So why do you want to go through his journals?" asked Devin curiously.

"Well, Charlie is a Magizoologist who specializes in studying dragons," I explained. "He stays in Romania most of the time, but he comes home every once in a while to visit, and when he does he leaves some of his journals documenting the dragons in his room."

"Kristin's, always wanted to be a Magizoologist as well," said Brooke.

"So, you seriously want to study dragons?" asked Jeremiah rather surprised.

"Well, not just dragons," I said. "I'm interested in pretty much all of the magical creatures. Actually I take that back I won't go near and Acromantula."  
"A what?" asked Devin.

"A big, giant spider," Brooke explained.  
"Um, there's not any around here are there?" he questioned looking a little creeped out.

"Oh no!" I said quickly. "They're native to the rainforests in Southeast Asia, particularly Borneo. I'm absolutely TERRIFED of spiders."

"Seems like you're scared of everything," Jeremiah said with a mouthful of sandwich.

"Jeremiah, dear, don't talk with your mouthful," scolded Mrs. Weasley, placing the vegetables into the pot.

Brooke and I both snickered and Jeremiah quickly swallowed his sandwich. When we finished our sandwiches, the boys and Ginny had made their way back down stairs again.

"Mum, is there anything we can help you with today?" asked Percy, like the good little angel he was. I think I feel a little something in my throat.

"Actually, there is," said Mrs. Weasley. "Those pesky gnomes are back in the garden again, could you go de-gnome it for me?" Percy suddenly looked like he regretted asking.

"Absolutely!" I said jumping to my feet.

"You enjoy this way too much, Kristin," Ron said shaking his head.

"So I take it you're not talking about the ceramic kind, huh?" questioned Devin.

"The ones that look like Father Christmas? Nope," said Fred. "We're talking about the razor tooth, biting kind."

"It's really not as bad as Fred makes it out to be," said Ron. "You just have to grab them by the legs, swing them around your head until they're good and dizzy, and then let them fly over the hedge."

"Don't worry about hurting them either," Ginny chimed in. "They're pretty resilient."

"Ginny, could you help me bring in and sort the laundry?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"But mum, I want to help!" she complained, grudgingly following Mrs. Weasley into the living room and out the front door.

"Well, before we go gnome hunting, I'd like to change into something more comfortable. I'd rather run in shorts than jeans," I said, heading to the living room.

"Not to mention that grass stains are harder to remove," added Brooke.

"Tis true, tis true," I nodded.

"I think all of our animals would prefer to be let out of their cages as well," said Jeremiah.

We all got up and rounded the corner into the living room. It had a large fire place that connected to the Floo Network and mismatched furniture covered with knitted blankets and throw pillows that circled around a small coffee table. By the window there was a board set up for Wizard's Chess, and through the window you could see into the front yard. On the dividing wall between the kitchen and living room there was a large clock, labeled not with numbers, but places. The nine hands consisted of a picture of each family member and the places consisted of _garden, school, home, work, hospital, prison, lost, Quidditch, traveling,_ and _mortal peril._

We walked up the wooden staircase leading to the multiple floors of the house. Bill and Charlie's rooms were located on the fourth floor and were opposite of each other.

"Ok, Bill's bedroom is on the right" I said pointing to Bill's room, "and Brooke and I are just across from y'all in Charlie's."

I opened the door to the room and Brooke followed me in. The room had plain wooden walls with posters of different magical creatures sprinkled about. Across from us was a window that looked over the front yard and against the window lay a single bed with a quilt consisting of the Hogwarts Crest. Next the bed sat an old cot with simply a pillow and a similar quilt folded up on top of it.

Brooke and I both looked at each other, then at the bed and cot. I immediately launched forward toward the bed, before I felt the force of Brooke grasping the back of my shirt pulling me backwards.

"Oh no you don't!" she yelled.

Using all of her strength, she slung me backwards against the door and rushed past me. Recovering quickly, I lunged forward and grabbed her around the waste making us both fall to the ground.

"Let me have it!" I yelled, gripping onto her for dear life.

"No!" she yelled stubbornly, slowly crawling towards the bed and dragging me along with her.

I managed to balance myself on my knees enough to where I could drag her back towards me. She turned slightly and elbowed me in the thigh, make it go numb with the pain. Taking advantage of me letting her go to grasp my thigh, she crawled on her hands and knees and clung to the quilt on the bed. I reached out quickly, grabbed her by the ankle with both hands, and pulled. She fell to the floor with a "thud" and tried kicking me off.

"I hate your stupid long appendages!" she yelled.

"I hate your face!" I shouted back.

She turned her torso toward me and kicked me off of her. She managed to get behind me and wrap her arms under my armpits and her hands locked behind my head, putting me in a full Nelson.

"Resistance is futile!" she yelled.

"Your mother is futile!" I shot back.

"I'm telling my mother you said that!"

"And I'll tell her who it was that drop her favorite necklace in the toilet and flushed it!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Brooke gasped, halting her movements.

"Try. Me," I said turning back my head to look at her without causing too much pain.

Laughter burst through the doorway, and both of us turned our heads to look at Devin and Jeremiah holding their sides. I have to admit, we probably looked ridiculous. Both of us wrestling around on the floor and me ending up in a full Nelson thanks to years of Brooke watching wrestling and practicing the moves on her unfortunate siblings.

"Y'know it's really rude to open the door to a lady's room," Brooke said releasing me.

"If I see one, I'll let you know," Devin retorted causing Jeremiah to begin laughing again. The boy was practically in hysterics upon the questioning of our femininity.

"Well then!" I scoffed, rubbing my neck and getting up off of the floor.

"Maybe we should just share the bed," offered Brooke. "I get it one night and you get the next."

"Yeah, but how are we going to decide?" I asked.

"Well, we are about to de-gnome the garden. How about whoever gets the most gnomes over the wall, wins," suggested Jeremiah.

"I guess that's fair," I shrugged. "Now move along so we can change clothes."  
When Jeremiah and Devin left, I closed the door and walked over to my luggage. I let Mr. Bobbles out of his cage, and after a good pecking on the head, he flew out of the window to stretch his wings. I rummaged through my trunk, changed clothes into my shorts and headed to the door. As I opened it Megie rushed past me nearly toppling me over.

"Dear Bob! Control your cat woman! I exclaimed. Megie had darted out of her kennel as soon as Brooke had opened the door.

"She's just excited to finally have gotten out of there," she said, walking past me and towards the stairs.

"You don't think she'll chase the chickens do you?" I asked.

"Definitely," she said without hesitation.

"So who do you think will win?' I asked.

"The chickens," Brooke said making me laugh. Rounding the corner into the kitchen, we met up with the others.

"Brooke, your cats insane," said Ron leaning against the door clutching his heart.

"I'm guessing you had quite the fright when she ran by." I said.

"'Quite the fright?' Bloody cat nearly gave me a heart attack!" he said.

"Oh, don't be a baby! You'll be fine," she said waving him off. Ron looked rather affronted at how little concern she showed toward his sudden heart palpitations.

All of us then walked outside and stopped in front of the garden. You could see several little gnome holes scattered all about. Gnomes were a lot like armadillos. They tore up the ground and uprooted whatever was planted. Mr. Weasley could've gotten rid of them a long time ago by simply investing in a jarvey, but he thought they were hilarious. Not to mention a jarvey wasn't exactly…subtle when it came to disposing of gnomes.

"Well, since Kristin and I will be competing to see who gets the bed in Charlie's room, I say we might as well make this a competition with everyone. Let's divide into teams of two," said Brooke.

"Let's just draw straws," said Fred, producing a pile of colored straws out of his pocket.

"Why do you just so happen to have straws in your pocket?" questioned Jeremiah.

"Why would I not have straws in my pocket?" he questioned back.

"It's better you not ask too many question, mate," Ron said.

"Anyway!" Brooke said interrupting them, "If you would please, Fred."

"Why, of course," he said gentlemanly.

He held the straws in his hand and each of us grabbed one, leaving him with the last. At the bottom of my straw was a little yellow dot.

"Who has yellow?" I asked.

"Me," said Ron, walking over beside me. He had a fear of dread on his face. Oh ho ho, this was going to be most enjoyable.

"Ok, Ronald McDonald, here's our strategy," I said, putting my arm around him and turning our backs on the others like we were in some kind of football huddle.

"You know I hate it when you call me that," he complained.

"Which is why I continue to call you that. Ok, First, we grab the gnomes, then, we swing the gnomes and lastly…"

"…We throw the gnomes?" he asked rolling his eyes. I jumped back suddenly in surprise.

"Are you….psychic?" I asked waving my hands around mystically.

"Nope, just used the ramblings of an idiot," he said mercilessly.

"Hmph. Rude." I replied folding my arms.

I looked over to the others and it looked like the teams consisted of George and Brooke, Fred and Jeremiah, and Percy and Devin. Devin was questioning Percy on how to get the gnomes out of the holes (basically you just had to make a lot of noise and, being of low intelligence, they would come out to see what the ruckus was about). George seemed to be whispering something in Brooke's ear and she had a malevolent smile on her face. That can't be good. Fred was demonstrating to Jeremiah how best to throw a gnome over the wall to get the farthest distance. It seemed to be a mixture of ballet and baseball.

"So, are we all ready?" I asked.

"We're all set here," said Brooke, holding something behind her back. Hmmm. Very suspicious.

Everyone lined up a ways away from the holes and got into running positions.

"Ready!" said George. "Set! GO!"

Everyone took off like a racehorse and made a beeline for the gnome holes. Of course I, with my graceful abilities, immediately fell to the ground face first. Ron skidded to a halt and simply looked down at me shaking his head.

"Seriously?!' he said. "You have trip as soon as we start?"

"Yes, because it was totally my decision to fall," I bit back.

"Hey, you alright there Kristin?" said Devin.

I looked up intending to thank Devin for worrying about me and his kind words, but alas it was too good to be true. Lo and behold, he was actually running backwards while laughing at me! I hope he trips in a gnome hole. I grabbed Ron by the collar of his shirt and put his face about an inch away from mine.

"We. Can. Not. Lose," I said. He nodded his head fearfully and helped me up.

By the time we ran over to where everyone else was, gnomes were popping up here and there out of their holes. I spotted one peaking its head up and quickly grabbed it by its neck.

"OI! Geroff me!" it shouted struggling. I switched hands to grab its feet and whirled it above my head like a lasso. When I was sure it was dizzy enough, I let it fly over the garden wall. Well would you look at that. It kind of looks like a Frisbee. If a Frisbee resembled a potato that is.

Nearby I saw Brooke dancing and sprinting around the garden flinging Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans all over the ground cackling like a madwoman. George was right behind her all the while picking up several gnomes at once, twirling them, and tossing them all at once. Unfortunately, since he was tossing multiple gnomes, some of them flew off in other directions. One of them actually nailed Percy in the head. I thought Devin would pass out from laughing so much.

Spotting another gnome running towards a gnome hole, I quickly bolted after it. Unfortunately it seemed like Jeremiah had the exact same idea. We both looked at each other, daring the other to go for it. I took the chance, dove for it, and grabbed it around the middle. I stood up and shoved it in Jeremiah's face.

"Ha!" I gloated waving it around.

Jeremiah glared at me and snatched it right out of my hand! I stood there in pure shock just staring at my hand.

"HA!" he said, before running off and leaving me alone with my bruised pride. How rude!

There had to be a simpler way to do this. I looked back over at the wall and saw a gnome squeeze his way back in through a hole and run off laughing, having thought he fooled us, until Devin grabbed it and just chucked it over the wall. I swear it sounded like a whistling noise in a cartoon as it flew off in the distance. Lightbulb!

I grabbed Ron by his shoulder, who was running past me, and turned him around, making him drop a particularly fat gnome on the ground. It cursed and shook its fat, little fist before waddling off.

"Hey, you made me..!

"Never mind that!" I said. "I've got an idea!"

"Oh great," he said sarcastically, still resentful over the loss of the gnome.

"No, it's actually a good one this time," I said grinning. "Ok, so you know how if you don't throw the gnomes far enough or spin them enough, they just come right back into the garden."

"Yeah…" he said, unsure of where exactly I was heading.

"Well, instead of running around like chickens with our heads cut off, we'll just wait by the wall and grab them when they come through."  
His eyes lit up at the sound of my brilliant idea. "That's actually not bad!"

"Yes, yes, thank you," I said bowing for effect.

We took off toward the garden wall and each took a position beside the holes big enough for the gnomes to crawl through. Sure enough, a few seconds later a gnome put its lumpy potato head through the hole near Ron and he grabbed it by the back of its neck. Cursing at being immediately caught, Ron managed to twirl it and fling it back over the wall.

One by one the gnomes would poke their heads through and we would quickly grab them and toss them over again. Not long after, the gnomes got wise of Ron and I and just gave up coming back.

"I don't think they're coming back," said Percy gasping for air.

"I'm so tired," said Jeremiah falling back onto the ground.

"I feel like death," said Brooke collapsing beside him.

"You look like death," he said.

Too tired to argue Brooke flopped back on the ground, her legs going slightly airborne as she did so.

"Are we ready to tally up the score? Make sure to give an ACCURATE score," said Percy looking directly at the twins.

"I'm hurt," said George. "You act like we would be dishonest or something."

"Brooke," he said ignoring George, "your score please?"

"Thirty-eight," she said.

"We had twenty," said Jeremiah.

"Why did we have so little?" complained Fred.

"Because you were throwing them all over the place!" Jeremiah said irritated.

"Don't question the method," he said raising a finger.

"Your method looked like a rain dance," I said laughing.

"We had even less. Sixteen," Devin said angrily.

"Let me guess," said George, "Percy was too busy being a pompous twit."

"You hit the nail on the head," said Devin.

Devin was competitive, but he didn't mind losing as long as he knew that he, or in this case his teammate, did that best that he could. Obviously Percy didn't live up to his standards. I could tell that he and Percy wouldn't be getting along well after this. Percy's haughty personality could really grate on your nerves after a while. I loved him like the rest of the Weasley's, but he got on my last nerve.

"Unfortunately," I said, "You can put us down for thirty-seven."

"HA!" yelled Brooke standing up and pointing her annoying finger in my face. "I won!" She then proceeded to do a happy dance, which involved turning in circles and shaking her booty. And let me tell you, that was a lot of booty to be shaking. Heh.

"You win this time Brookie Cookie, but I shall have my revenge!" I cried dramatically.

"We would've won if you hadn't of made me drop the fat gnome," complained Ron.

"And we also wouldn't have had as high of a score as we did without my brilliant idea!" I shot back.

"Now, now," interrupted Percy. "We mustn't act childish."

"Well, we are children…" laughed Jeremiah with the rest of us joining in.

Percy huffed at Jeremiah stating the obvious and waltzed off toward house.

"He gets his panties in a wad way too easily," said Brooke standing up off of the ground. "I do believe that would make a prime target for some good ol' practical jokes."

"Brooke," said George putting his arm around her shoulder "I do believe I love the way you think."

"Should we retire to our office and discuss these affairs?" asked Fred, putting his arm on the other side of her.

"Yes, let's," She said.

All three of them walked to The Burrow planning a rough draft of pranks that could be pulled on Percy. Ron, Devin, Jeremiah, and I trailed after them.

"They're going to be a bad influence on her you know," said Ron.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure she could be a bad influence on them," said Jeremiah.

Ron looked particularly fearful at that point, thinking about how frightful it is that someone could possibly be worse that Fred and George. The twins were notorious for their knack at pranking people. Sometimes their pranks would get out right dangerous. Once when I was eight, they thought it would be absolutely hilarious to tie some Filibuster Fireworks Rockets to my ankles to see how far I would fly in the air. Of course, seeing as how I'm terrified of heights, I wasn't exactly cooperative. Mr. Weasley came running from the house, after hearing my cries, and promptly put out the lit fuses. Come to think of it, maybe Fred and George are the ones that made me scared of heights in the first place!

We walked inside the house to see Mrs. Weasley stirring the large pot at the stove, which ended up being beef stew. It smelled heavenly and after all of that frolicking around outside, I was starving. Brooke was at the table talking and demonstrating with Ginny about the de-gnoming.

"You still have plenty of time before dinner, so why don't all of you wash up?' suggested Mrs. Weasley.

"That'd be great. Why don't y'all go ahead before us, "I said to Devin and Jeremiah.

"Oh! Boys, why don't you lot go outside and make sure the chickens and pigs are fed," Said Mrs. Weasley.

"No problem mum," said Ron.

Devin and Jeremiah walked upstairs to take cleaned up, and Fred, George, Percy, and Ron walked out the front door to tend to the animals that were in a stone pin connected to the house. I walked over to the sink and got Brooke and I each a glass of water.

After a bit of conversation, we heard the front door open up and a red-haired man only a little taller than Mrs. Weasley walked in and smiled brightly at us. I jumped up and launched myself into his arms.

"Mr. Weasley!" I exclaimed. "How are you?"

He hugged me back and said, "Just wonderful! So did you bring me anything?"

"Absolutely," I said. "But you'll have to wait until after dinner!"

"No problem there! I'm starved!" he said walking over to Mrs. Weasley and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Awww. So romantic!

"And who's your friend?" he asked extending a hand out to Brooke.

"I'm Brooke Landers!" Brooke said shaking his hand.

"Devin and Jeremiah are here as well, but their upstairs taking showers," I explained.

"The more the merrier!" he said smiling.

A half an hour later, Devin and Jeremiah came into the kitchen, both with damp hair, and sat down in the kitchen. While they were introducing themselves to Mr. Weasley, Brooke and I both left to go take showers of our own. After, I showing Brooke where the bathroom was to let her take her shower first. Mr. Bobbles had since returned and sat perched on top of a dresser.

"So, you still mad at me?" I asked him, taking a seat on the bed that Brooke had stolen from me.

He turned his head toward me and fluttered down onto the headboard of the bed. It looked like he had finally forgiven me. I pressed my head lightly against his body and burrowed down into his soft down feathers. So comfy.

"I'm really glad that you're here," I said.

He hooted softly and pressed against me more. Somehow he knew what I was feeling.

Being alone in this room had left me alone with my thoughts and made me realize how real this was. It was a mixture of excitement, fear, and homesickness. I wasn't going to be here for just a short summer and then go back to Louisiana like every year. I was here for an entire year, and without my parents or older sister. The world is a pretty big place for an eleven year old when you really put it in perspective. Mr. Bobbles had given me this sense of comfort, that although I felt lonely without my family, I was still connected to them through him. It was sort of like he was a door that lead straight back to home.

Brooke interrupted my thoughts as she walked through the door, with Megie in her arms. I laughed as I saw how haggard the cat looked. She had feathers stuck all over her.

"I told you the chickens would win," Brooke laughed.

"Don't ask me to help get the feathers off! I'd rather not get scratched," I said.

Megie was actually narrowing her eyes at Mr. Bobbles and he gave her as an amused look as an owl can.

Gathering my clothes I proceeded to the bathroom and took a quick shower. I went back to our room and tossed my clothes into my open trunk. Brooke was no longer in the room so I assumed she must've gone stairs without me, so I followed suit. Arriving in the kitchen I noticed there were four additional chairs squeezed around the table. This was going to be a tight fit. Brooke and Ginny were helping Mrs. Weasley finish setting the table and Devin and Jeremiah were sitting at the table with Mr. Weasley discussing the exact function of spark plugs. He loved to collect them after all. Although he did that with any muggle object he deemed fascinating.

"Do you need any help Mrs. Weasley?' I asked.

"Actually, would you mind gathering the boys for dinner? I'm just putting out the food," She asked.

"No problem!" I said. I walked through the living room and out the front door.

The sun was setting now and looked beautiful highlighting the gold wheat field in front of me. I walked around to the right side of the house where the pig pen was. The chicken coop lay not 10 feet from it and a ways down the road was Mr. Weasley's shed where he housed his collection of muggle "artifacts" and the family car.

I saw Fred and George finishing up pouring the slop into the pigs feeding trough and Ron had gathered a large basket of eggs that would most likely be used for breakfast in the morning. Percy was nowhere to be seen. Slacker.

"Where's Percy?" I asked taking a seat on the low stone wall of the pen.

"Took off early after he 'straightened' Dad's shed," George said using air quotes.

Percy new dang well, Mr. Weasley had everything thing in that shed organized. Mostly because Mrs. Weasley made him do it though. His office at the Ministry of Magic was another matter entirely.

"So basically,' said Fred, rinsing out the bucket that slop was in, "he's far too dignified to help the little people."

"He's gotten way too big for his britches," I sighed.

"He's gotten a lot worse this year though," said Ron walking over and set the basket down on the wall next to me. "I think it's because he's gotten Prefect. He won't' stop going on about it."

"I bet you a galleon that he'll mention it at least once tonight," said George.

Surely he could go ONE night without saying it.

"You're on," I said hopping off the wall. "Mrs. Weasley sent me to tell you that dinner's ready by the way. Need help with the basket Ron?"

"Yeah, thanks," he said.

I took hold of part the basket's handle and Ron and I both walked back to the house. Once inside, we put the eggs into a crate, in the pantry attached to the kitchen. When we walked out we took our seats at the table joining everyone else.

"Looks delicious Mrs. Weasley," complimented Devin. Look at him being so nice and polite.

"Thank you, dear!" she replied. "Alright everyone, no reason to beat around the bush! Dig in!"

Without hesitation there was a flurry of hands flying out towards the food and plates being passed around the table. There was not only beef stew, but mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, green beans, ham, and for dessert, three peach cobblers. I was in Heaven. No seriously. It's[R1] like I could hear an angelic choir singing in the background as I took the first bite of stew. The beef was so tender you hardly had to chew it.

"It's show beautiful," Brooke said with a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Brooke, don't talk with your mouthful," said Jeremiah. "You know you have trouble doing two things at once."

"I'm not trying to be rude or anything," began Devin, "but this is all Southern food. Did you plan this whole meal out for us?"

"I did!" she replied. "Kristin's mother and I exchange recipes whenever they visit. I figured you all would like a taste of home before you left for school."

"Thank you! It's perfect!" said Jeremiah gratefully. Mrs. Weasley tried to hide her large grin, by taking a bite out of a roll

"So, Mr. Weasley, how's work been lately?" I asked.

"Oh, it's been interesting!" he began. "Just this morning we had to raid a muggle's home to recover a teapot that had been bewitched to freeze whatever liquid that was poured out of it. Terribly unpleasant for the poor muggle man that happened to spill the tea in his lap."

All of the boys visibly winced uncomfortably at the thought of the unfortunate muggle.

"He was out at the hospital when we got to his home. Fortunately his memories didn't need altering as he thought maybe there was just something wrong with his stove."

"Now Arthur, you know you're not supposed to reveal Ministry business," scolded Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh, no harm done Molly," he said. "Besides, the kids love a good story."

"This gives us an idea," whispered George to Fred.

"Whatever it is, I want in on it!" whispered Brooke from across the table.

"Oh no you don't!" interrupted Percy. "I'm keeping you two on a short leash this year and don't corrupt poor Brooke with your mischievousness."

Devin, Jeremiah, and I all looked at each other and busted out laughing. Ignoring our ruckus laughter, Percy turned his attention towards me.

"By the way, Kristin," he began. "Did I tell you that I was made Prefect this year?"

"Dang it!" I said catching Percy off guard and reaching into my pocket for a Galleon.

"Pay up," said George reaching across the table. I sighed and handed it over to him.

"Thank you for your patronage, m'lady," he said pocketing the gold coin

"Oh are you a prefect Percy? We had no idea, you should've said something," said Fred haughtily. More laughter erupted around the table, even Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, trying to hide their quiet giggling. Percy sat in uncomfortable silence stabbing his ham a little harder than he should have.

After dinner was finished, everyone helped Mrs. Weasley clean up the kitchen and store the leftover food in a large refrigerator-like box in the back of the pantry. Of course being that electricity didn't work well around wizards, it was charmed to simply keep items cold exactly like a fridge would. After everything was put away, everyone either retired to their bedrooms or the living room.

I went upstairs to retrieve Mr. Weasley's gift for him like I promised.

Walking back into the living room, I saw Jeremiah sitting back in the bay window watching Ron teach Devin the difference between wizard's chess and muggle chess. Brooke was sitting on the couch next to Mrs. Weasley, who was teaching her the basics of knitting and Mr. Weasley was reading the Daily Prophet and pretending that he didn't notice me. Honestly, he was like a little kid on Christmas. It was adorable. I walked in front of him with the large gift behind my back.

"Mr. Weasley! Are you ready for your gift?" I asked.

"If you insist!" he said with a hint of excitement in his voice. He put his paper on the arm of the chair and leaned forward. I presented him with a large, somewhat neatly, wrapped box. He tore into the paper and gasped when he saw what was in the box.

"Is this a plunger?!" he asked, holding it in awe.

"It is!" I said in delight. "I went through your shed last summer and saw that you had a toilet brush, but didn't have a plunger. I figured you'd like a complete set!"

He stood up, with plunger in hand, and hugged me.

"Thank you! I'll treasure it always." He said.

"Aw shucks!" I said giggling.

"So what will we be doing tomorrow?" asked Devin, not looking up from his chess game. It looked like Ron was winning.

"We'll be going to Diagon Alley in the morning to pick up your school supplies," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Its amazing!" explained Ron. "They've got this awesome joke shop, and a sweet shop too!"

"If we have time, we'll stop by them," said Mrs. Weasley. "But we've got to get our other errands done first. We'll have to stop by the Gringott's of course. I've spoken to all of your parents and they've set up each of you an account there. Of course, if you want to keep getting a regular allowance, you'll need to keep your grades up."

"Pretty sure I'm going to actually want to do my schoolwork this year," said Devin. "It's a MAGIC school that teaches MAGIC. Who wouldn't want to do it?"

"You'd be surprised," said Ron. "Fred and George said there's an absolutely boring teacher who does nothing but just read the text book, the entire lesson."

"Well, as fun as this has been," said Jeremiah stretching and purposely smacking Devin in the head, "I think I'm going to hit the hay."

"Sounds like a great idea to me," said Devin stretching his legs and "accidently" kicking Jeremiah in the shin.

"Actually, I think it would be great for all of us to go to bed," said Mr. Weasley. "We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Carrying his plunger like the Holy Grail, Mr. Weasley walked upstairs. As we trailed behind him, Mrs. Weasley, began putting out the lanterns with a flick of her wand every time she walked past one. We said our goodnights to each other, changed into our pajamas, and brushed our teeth. Walking back into the bedroom I grabbed one of Charlie's journals and laid down in the cot. This was not going to be good for my back. Brooke slipped into the bed next to me and started plucking the chicken feathers off of Megie, while I read through an entry on the Ukrainian Ironbelly.

"Did you know that the Ukrainian Ironbelly is the largest dragon breed weighing up to six tons," I informed.

"Well, it is called the Ironbelly. I didn't think it would be exactly light," she said with a small chuckle.

"Ha-ha," I said sarcastically.

"Girls, it's time to go to sleep," said Mrs. Weasley poking her head through the door.

"Ok!" we both said in unison. I folded down the corner of the page I was on and set it down next to me on the floor.

"Good night Mrs. Weasley," yawned Brooke.

"Good night!" I said.

"Good night, girls," said Mrs. Weasley.

I rolled over facing Brooke and saw her cuddling with Megie before closing my eyes. With a "swoosh" of Mrs. Weasley's wand darkness fell over the room and we fell asleep to the distant sound of clucking chickens.


	3. Year 1: Fireworks

Ah, morning. The birds chirping peacefully outside, the feel of the warm sunlight upon my face, and the smell of Mrs. Weasley burning the bacon. Hold up. Mrs. Weasley never burns food.

Sitting up in my makeshift bed, I took a sniff around the room. Something was definitely burning, and it didn't smell like food. Looking over to the sleeping body next to me, I pushed on Brooke's shoulder to wake her up.

"Whaaaaaat…." She groaned, not bothering to even turn over.

"Do you smell something burning?" I asked. Finally accepting that I wasn't going to let her go back to sleep, she sat up in bed and sniffed the air.

"Yeah, I do," she said waking up a little more alarmed than before.

Putting my feet on the wooden floor, I felt heat on the back of my ankles. Before I could even move to investigate the source of it, there was a large crack from under my cot and I launched myself forward onto the floor.

"What the..," I began before another crack interrupted me along with a flash of light from under my bed. As if a flood gate was raised, popping noises resounded throughout the room along with flashing lights.

Absolute chaos erupted. The animals, who hadn't stirred until now, lost it completely. Megie jumped from the foot of bed and sunk her claws into the front of Brooke's shirt. Catching Brooke off guard, both of them tumbled to the floor with a loud thud. Well, this scared the cat even more. She tried to flee, but because her claws were now stuck to Brooke's shirt she scrambled around in a panic yowling loudly. When Brooke reached out to try and unhook one of her paws Megie immediately bit her on the hand causing Brooke to swear loudly in pain from not only the bite, but also from the amount of scratches her abdomen was currently enduring.

Mr. Bobbles, however, had flown from his perch on top of the wardrobe screeching shrilly and flapped around the room causing feathers to float around everywhere. I got up off the floor and stood on top of the bed trying to get a little more height so I could reach out and grab him. Of course grabbing an owl scared out of his wits, all the while trying to avoid his sharp talons, wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do. I quickly had to retract one of my arms before he sliced clean into it.

Being drawn to the noises coming from our bedroom, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley burst through the door.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" shrieked Mrs. Weasley. Brooke and I froze and looked directly at them, a mixture of shock and confusion on their faces as they took in what they saw.

Brown and black speckled feathers littered the entire room. They were in our hair, on our clothes, the furniture, and even on Megie. I was standing on the bed arms still outstretched trying to catch my owl, who was still flapping wildly around the room. Brooke and Megie still lay upon the floor with Brooke holding Megie away from her body, claws still attached to her shirt.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley pointed each of their wands at our animals and said, " _Immobulus_!" A blue light shot from both wands and hit Megie and Mr. Bobbles, who immediately came to a halt.

I reached up and grabbed Mr. Bobbles, who was hovering in the air, and carefully folded his wings in. Brooke slowly unhooked Megie's claws from her shirt and began plucking feathers out of her fur.

"Now, what in the Merlin's beard is going on in here?! Honestly! I expected better behavior from you two!" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

"It wasn't us!" defended Brooke. "Kristin woke up and smelled something burning and then these small explosions just started going off from under her bed."

"It scared Megie and Mr. Bobbles half to death!" I said stroking my poor, still frozen, owl.

"Explosions, huh?" said Mr. Weasley suspiciously. He got down on his hands and knees and looked under my cot.

"I think I know who the culprits of this are," he said pulling out a smoking pot from under the cot. Inside the pot were the smoking remnants of fireworks.

"FRED! GEORGE!" yelled Mrs. Weasley furiously.

Poking their heads around the corner were a pair of red-headed twins who looked like they had held in their laughter long enough. They just couldn't hold it anymore and both of them exploded with laughter, tears streaming down their faces.

"Seriously?! What is up with you two and trying to blow me up all the time!" I yelled at them. I couldn't exactly find the humor right now because I still had ongoing heart palpitations.

"Hey, we weren't the only ones involved!" said George. On the other side of the doorway peaked the three heads of Devin, Jeremiah, and Ron. Laughter resounded around the room from all five boys. There were even some knee slaps involved.

"Oh, it's on." Brooke said mercilessly.

"Devin! Jeremiah! I'm owling both of your mothers!" Mrs. Weasley said storming over to them. "And I expect every single one of you to have this room spotless in thirty minutes or there will be no breakfast for any of you!"

Mrs. Weasley stalked out of the room with Mr. Weasley trailing behind her shaking his head.

"Worth it," said Devin wiping a tear from his eye.

"You should've seen your faces," said Jeremiah, finally calming down enough for him to catch a breath.

"Comedy gold," said Fred walking into the room smiling ear to ear.

"Well, Freddie. It looks like our little invention worked," said George proudly.

"You mean you made those fireworks and used us as GUINEA PIGS!" shrieked Brooke.

"Think of it more as contributing to our future," said Fred.

"You won't HAVE a future when I done with you!" Brooke replied.

I walked up to him, holding my now stirring owl, and jabbed my finger in his chest.

"You won't know when and you won't know where, but we will find you and we will have our revenge!" I said dramatically.

"I think we've just awoken the beast," I heard Jeremiah say as Brooke and I both waltzed out of the room.

Entering the kitchen we found Mrs. Weasley hard at work over the stove making, bacon, eggs, and biscuits. All of that flouncing around like loons this morning had made me hungry. Mr. Weasley was sitting at the chair by the window reading this morning's _Daily Prophet_ and Ginny was scrounging around in the pantry trying to find whatever her mother had set to task.

"You're not going to work today Mr. Weasley?" Brooke asked sitting down in one of the chairs.

"No, the Ministry gives those of us with school-age children one day off before they leave," replied Mr. Weasley. "It gives us time to spend with our families and finish up any last minute shopping we have to do."

"Well, that's thoughtful of them," she said. "By the way, if it's possible, could I see where you work someday?"

"Absolutely!" he said with his eyes all aglow. "Ah, I see your companions are starting to wake up,"

Megie was in Brooke's lap stretching out the stiffness from the Freezing Charm and Mr. Bobbles, who I had placed on the kitchen table, began to flutter his wings.

"Girls, those hoodlums upstairs are probably done cleaning your room, why don't you go get ready and after breakfast we can leave for The Leaky Cauldron."

"Okey, dokey! I imagine Mr. Bobbles would like to get out of the house after that large commotion this morning. Wouldn't you my sweet little owl," I cooed at him. He hooted back softly and nudged me with his beak affectionately. Oh, he was soaking this up and going to milk it for everything its worth.

I held out my arm for him to hook himself too and we walked back up the stairs. Entering the room, we found it surprisingly clean and hoodlum free. Maybe if I let them prank us more often I could get them to clean out Mr. Bobbles' cage. I walked over to the window and kneeled down on the bed to unlock it and Mr. Bobbles didn't hesitate to take flight when he saw it was opened. Megie hopped out of Brooke's arms and placed herself on the windowsill to laze around in the sun.

After Brooke and I dressed and brushed our teeth we walked back down the stairs and joined the rest of the family for breakfast. We took our places at the table with everyone else and all of us began to eat. After the conclusion of the delightful meal, we helped clean up and followed Mr. Weasley into the living room.

"So, Dad, are we going by car or Floo Power?" asked Ron.

"Well, Floo Powder will be easier since we can just arrive at the Leaky Cauldron," replied Mr. Weasley.

"So what's Floo Powder?" questioned Devin.

"Allow me," said Percy volunteering a little bit of knowledge from that humongous head of his. "Floo Powder was invented by Ignatia Wildsmith in the Thirteenth Century and is a glittery, green powder that allows Witches and Wizards to travel through the Floo Network via fireplace."

Devin just had an incredibly dumbstruck look on his face and said "…..what?'

Oh, good grannies. Percy's explanation was about as helpful as an anchor at a rowing competition.

"…..Um thank you Percy, but maybe we ought to demonstrate it so he can understand," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Well if you insist, then I'll go first," Percy said.

"Good riddance," muttered George, to which there was a slight giggle on my part.

Percy walked over to a flower pot on the mantel piece and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. He threw the powder into the fireplace and huge green and yellow flames shot up. He calmly walked into the fire and said, "DIAGON ALLEY." The flames consumed him and disappeared leaving the fireplace as if they were never there in the first place. This sight left Devin's jaw slightly askew.

"So basically, it's kind of like a portkey except with a fireplace?" he asked.

"That's the gist of it," replied Mr. Weasley.

"So where exactly do you come out at?" asked Devin.

"The fireplaces in the wizarding community are all connected, this is called the Floo Network. All you have to do is say the name of where you want to go and you'll come out at that fireplace. We'll come out at the fireplace in The Leaky Cauldron. It's a wizarding pub in London that connects to Diagon Alley," explained Mr. Weasley.

"And don't worry about the fire, mate," said Ron. "It doesn't hurt, it just kind of tickles."

"Alright, I'll try it next then," said Devin. Sniff. Look at him all grown up and joining the wizarding community.

"And remember to keep your elbows in, eyes closed for your first time, and to speak loudly and clearly," instructed Mrs. Weasley.

Devin grabbed a handful of powder out of the flower pot, threw it in the fire, and walked in hesitantly. Once he felt the fire didn't burn he said, "DIAGON ALLEY" and vanished.

"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. He just hopped right on in there didn't he?" said Mr. Weasley.

"Well, Devin's pretty fearless," said Brooke.

"That explains his lack of fear last night coming up with the fireworks plan," Fred said thoughtfully to himself.

"Hold up!" I said holding my hand up. "HE came up with the prank?"

"Well, Fred and George let it slip last night about how they tried to blast you into space with some rockets and it just kind of escalated from there," explained Jeremiah, holding in laughs no doubt thinking about this morning's debacle.

"Kristin, I believe the target of our revenge has narrowed considerably," said Brooke.

"Oh, I concur Brookie Cookie," I said.

I marched straight up to the fireplace, grabbed some Floo Powder, threw it into the hearth and yelled, "DIAGON ALLEY!"

With a whir of green flames I was thrown onto my back and slid down what seemed like that never ending slide off of that episode of the _Rugrats_. You know, the one where Chuckie's afraid of going down the slide?

I twisted and turned as fireplaces flew past me and I stared up at the empty abyss that consisted of a rush of golds, yellows, and browns. It gave the sensation of being in a really long tube. Ending my journey, I was turned upright on my feet, surrounded by fire once more and landed safely in the fireplace of The Leaky Cauldron.

Waiting at a table in the middle of a large room, which was purely used for Floo Powder travel, were Devin and Percy. The latter of which looked like he was about to die of boredom listening to Percy educate him more about the Floo Network. Good.

"Devin Skipper!" I scolded marching over to him. "What's this I hear about you being the mastermind behind that prank this morning?"

"I'll try to be quieter about the one tomorrow so you won't be able to hear," he said grinning and leaning back in his chair. Oh, is that how he's going to play it?

"Well, just so you know Brooke and I have now made you the sole target of our spectacular plan for revenge," I proclaimed proudly. Maybe he wouldn't catch my bluff.

"Ok," he said rolling his eyes. Crap, he caught it.

Behind me I heard a whooshing sound, and out of the fireplace popped Ginny.

"Jeremiah, should be next," she said walking over to us and taking a seat next to Percy.

As if on cue Jeremiah walked out of the fireplace next, soon followed by the others who came one by one.

"Alright you lot, I want you on your best behavior," Mrs. Weasley said looking at Fred and George in particular. "We'll be going to Gringott's first, and then we can split up from there. I want each of you to have all of your school supplies bought BEFORE you go and look around at the other shops."

"You're not going with us?" asked Jeremiah.

"No. Arthur, Ginny, and I will be getting some supplies for your dinner tonight," she said. "Don't worry, Ron and Kristin know the way around so you won't get lost. Oh! That reminds me!"

Mrs. Weasley reached into her purse she was carrying and gave each one of us a slip of paper.

"This is your school supply list," she said.

The list had come with our Hogwarts acceptance letters and our parents had sent them over to the Weasley's since there was no way we could really buy any of this over in the United States. None of the US wizarding schools had the same curriculum as Hogwarts, so they wouldn't have the same supply list. We did, however, already receive out wands.

I looked down and read the list, this having been my first time to actually really pay attention to it. I merely glanced at it when it arrived, and then gave it to my mother. I knew I wouldn't be getting any of it until we left for Hogwarts, so I figured there wasn't really a need to read it at the time.

It read as follows:

Uniform

First-year students will require:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags

Course Books

All students should have a copy of the following:

1\. _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ by Miranda Goshawk

2\. _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot

3\. _Magical Theory_ by Albert Waffling

4\. _A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_ by Emeric Switch

5\. _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ by Phyllida Spore

6\. _Magical Drafts and Potions_ by Arsenius Jigger

7\. _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander

8\. _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_ by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1\. 1 wand

2\. 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

3\. 1 set of glass crystal phials

4\. 1 telescope

5\. 1 set of brass scales

Students may also bring an owl or a cat or a toad.

PARENTS ARE ALSO REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

"How are we supposed to carry all of this?" asked Brooke.

"There's two uses for a cauldron," answered Fred.

"Well actually there's multiple uses for a cauldron," added George. "You could use it as a helmet as well."

"Or a bell," I chimed in

"Or a bathtub," said Brooke.

"How in Bob's name would you use it as a bathtub?" I said. "It's too small."

"Not if you get one of those really big ones," she answered.

"Yes, but those are strictly ministry issued cauldrons, for making large batches of potion," said Percy.

"Then it's simple. We go to the ministry and we 'borrow' one," Brooke said using air quotes on "borrowed."

"And then you'll be tackled to the ground by the patrol officers, and we'll all have a good laugh," said Ron.

"I'd pay money to see that," said Jeremiah laughing.

"Alright, alright," interrupted Mr. Weasley. "It's time we made our way to Diagon Alley. Follow me, kids."

All of us followed Mr. Weasley into the main room of The Leaky Cauldron. There was a large table in to middle of the room, surrounded with smaller tables scattered here and there. Against the wall opposite of us was a built in kitchen and bar, with large barrels to the left of it and taps attached to each of them. To the right was the door that would take us into the courtyard that led to Diagon Alley and next to it was a small flight of stairs that led up to many rooms that people could rent out.

Wizarding folk of all kinds were gathered around several tables and people were constantly coming in and out of the pub. There were robes of all colors being worn with matching hats that ranged from the regular pointed hats, to large hats with feathers and flowers attached to them. I pretty sure one old witch had a stuffed vulture on top of her hat.

"Stay close, kids. It's busy in here today because everyone's out shopping," said Mr. Weasley.

We followed Mr. Weasley through the door and into a small courtyard. We were surrounded by brick walls on all sides that belonged to the adjoining buildings.

"I thought…," began Devin before Ron interrupted him.

"Just watch, mate," he said pointing towards the wall we were all facing.

Mr. Weasley took his wand and lightly tapped a brick in the middle of the wall three times. The brick began to wriggle and was soon followed by all of the other bricks. They moved around in a blocky manner making a large archway in the wall. The archway gave way to a very busy, cobbled road line with dozens of shops and street venders. People were darting in and out of different shops carrying large bags and what was too large to carry was simply floating behind them, with their wands raised.

"Every time I think I've got it figured out, something else just comes and blows it right out of the water," said Devin gazing down the road in amazement.

"We've grown up surrounded by magic, and there's always something that constantly amazes me," said Jeremiah.

"I think that's the thing about magic, it always just kind of catches you off guard," I said thoughtfully.

"Well, we can't dilly dally all day. You'll have plenty of time to look around later. Let's go," said Mr. Weasley.

He led us through the archway and into the bustling street beyond


	4. Year 1: Diagon Alley

The brick wall that had led us into Diagon Alley closed behind us once we had all passed through it. We followed Mr. Weasley along the bustling street passing shops that sold all sorts of wizarding supplies imaginable. I was most grateful for the Weasley's genetic red hair at the moment, as Mr. Weasley was easily distinguishable in the large crowd. Brooke had grabbed my hand at some point to keep us from getting separated.

At the end of the road stood an enormous, white, and crooked building. It stood three stories high with large white columns supporting each one. A sign was etched into the stone above the door that said: Gringott's Bank. On either side of the bank the road split in two leading off into other shopping areas. The one on the right didn't exactly look welcoming. Don't think I'll be going down there anytime soon.

I turned back to look at Devin who was trying to drink everything in and grabbed his arm to get his attention.

"The bank's run by goblins and I know it's a lot to take in, but try not to stare too much at them. They aren't exactly very friendly," I said warning him.

"Is that one?" he whispered, nodding toward the large bronze doors.

A small, pale goblin stood at the door bowing to people as they walked in. He stood about waist high with a pointed face and beard. He wore a scarlet and gold uniform and had long, bony fingers.

"Yes," I whispered back.

We walked through the doors and came to another set of silver doors with words engraved into them.

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn._

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more than treasure there._

"I take it not a lot of people try to rob Gringotts," said Jeremiah as we passed through the second set of doors.

"No one's ever tried to rob it period," said Ron. "There's way too many enchantments, plus goblin magic protecting it. Rumor has it that there's even dragons guarding the high security vaults."

"Yeah, I'd say that's pretty full proof," said Brooke.

Entering the main room of the bank, it was a huge marble room with Goblins everywhere.

They were sitting in high chairs in several rows of long counters that led all of the way to the other end of the room. As we passed by them they were measuring gold on brass scales and examining beautiful stones like rubies and sapphires through eyeglasses.

There were several halls that branched off from the main room that goblins were escorting people in and out of. At the end of the hall sat a sole desk with a goblin scribbling down in a ledger.

"Morning!" greeted Mr. Weasley. The goblin looked up from his book of numbers and nodded his head at Mr. Weasley.

"We've come to make a withdrawal from our vault along with four others," said Mr. Weasley gesturing to us.

"Have you got all of the keys, sir?" the goblin asked. Mrs. Weasley reached into her purse and placed five golden keys on his desk.

"Very good. Would your family like to wait in our waiting area?" he asked. He held out his hand to an area in the corner of the room near one of the halls.

"Kids, wait here, we'll be right back," said Mrs. Weasley.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley followed the goblin into one of the halls and the rest of us walked over to the seating area and got comfortable. A female goblin with brown hair and wearing a red dress, similar to the male version of the Gringott's uniform, walked over to us pushing a tea cart.

"Tea?" she squeaked in a high pitched voice. "It's complimentary."

"Yes, please!" said Ginny eagerly grabbing a cup.

"Does it have enough sugar in it?" asked Devin. Brooke swiftly elbowed him in the ribs.

"It's not sweet tea you idgit, its English tea," she said taking a cup for herself.

He rubbed his ribs and decided to take a cup for himself to try.

"Thank you," said Percy, accepting the last cup and sipping it with his pinky extended.

Fred took his cup, crossed his legs, and mocked Percy sipping his tea with a little bit of a dramatic flair. He even flipped his hair like some high strung rich lady, which earned several laughs. The little goblin then rolled away the cart giving Devin a sharp look.

"Do you have to be so rude?" I scolded Devin.

"It was a simple question, I wasn't trying to be," he said setting the teacup down, deciding he didn't necessarily care for it. "I should've brought some sweet tea with me."

"Just owl your mum, when you get to school," suggested Ron.

"I'll let you borrow Bilbo," said Jeremiah.

"Be sure to share it with us," said George. "If enough people like it we could sell it and make a killing."

"I'll definitely take you up on that," Devin said.

A door opened up across the room and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked out carrying several small bags filled with our money.

"Now, we've gotten out everything that you'll need plus a little spending money," said Mrs. Weasley.

She handed bags out to everyone and I took notice that the Weasley children's bags were significantly smaller than ours. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Weasley's were poor, but they made due and were rich with love. They were unselfish in every way and didn't hesitate to open their home to us every summer and to three complete strangers they had never met.

I knew Ron would be getting most of his school supplies as hand-me-downs with the exception of parchment, quills, scales, and cauldron. I had already informed the others of the Weasley's financial situation before we left so we could avoid an awkward "Hey, you're not buying your books?" type of questions. Ron was obviously embarrassed if anyone pointed anything like that out to him. He was very proud of his family, but being the youngest boy I think he felt overshadowed at times.

I quickly put my bag of coins into the small over-the-shoulder purse I had brought with me, that also held my wand. Devin wordlessly handed his bag to me and I put it away with mine. Brooke, having a bag of her own, stored Jeremiah's in hers.

"Ok, this is where we all split up. We'll meet back at The Leaky Cauldron at one o'clock and head home for lunch," said Mr. Weasley.

"Percy, I want you with Fred and George to make sure they don't get into any shenanigans," said Mrs. Weasley.

"But mother I was planning on…." Percy started.

"No 'buts,'" she said cutting him off. Percy slumped his shoulders and followed Fred and George out of the bank.

"You lot will be OK?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes Ma'am! You can count on us!" I said putting my arm around Ron and tugging him to me. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked out of the bank as well, followed by Ginny, who was complaining rather loudly that she couldn't come with us.

"So where should we go first?" asked Brooke.

"I'd say we should get our robes first. They'll take a couple of hours to finish, so they'll probably be done by the time we finish shopping," I said.

"Sounds good to me," said Jeremiah.

Ron and I led the way out of the bank, and on our way out we passed by an enormous bearded man. He was like a really tall Santa Claus except his wild, bushy mane was black instead of white and he looked very wild. Not paying attention to where I was going and to the man instead, I slammed into the boy walking beside him, setting his glasses slightly askew.

"I'm so sorry!" I said. "I wasn't paying attention."

"S'alright," he muttered fixing his glasses and jogging after the man.

"Good job," said Devin sarcastically. I raised my hand to punch him in the arm, but he darted past me.

Entering the street, we walked down the road and headed into Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. An older witch stood at a desk in the front and turned her head up to look at us when we walked in.

"Hogwarts?" she asked.

"Yes," answered Ron.

"Follow Me."

She led us to a room in the back with robes of all colors hanging on racks and several stools placed in the middle of the room. She called over three witches who were working on different sets of robes on mannequins. Ron went and sat down in a chair by one of the racks, while the rest of us got fitted.

The witches instructed us to step on the stools so they could take our measurements. They threw over plain black robes over our head and pinned and adjusted the fabric to where it fitted us suitably. They then took measurements of our heads, for the hats we would be wearing.

"They'll be ready in about three hours," said the witch I assumed to be Madame Malkin. The others walked outside to wait on me while I finished paying for my robes. The bell dinged on the door and I turned my head to see a handsome, blonde boy about my age walk in.

"Hello," he said. "You going to Hogwarts too?"

"Yep, you a first year as well?" I said signing my receipt.

"Yes, I am," he said rather proudly. "Do you know what house you'll be sorted into? I'll definitely be in Slytherin."

"Well, nobody really knows until they get there," I said placing the receipt into my bag.

"True. As long as I'm not in the same house as THOSE people," he said nodding his head toward the window. Brooke was doing a demonstration of Fred's gnome tossing dance, making the others laugh.

I shot the boy a nasty look and said, "Well, I'd be tickled pink if I was in the same house as THOSE people," I stalked past him, purposely shoving my shoulder into his, and walked out the door.

"So, where to next?" I said more angrily than I'd hoped.

"What's wrong?" said Brooke with a worried look.

"That blonde kid was just making fun y'all," I said. Ron peaked around me and into the shop where the boy was walking towards the back with Madame Malkin.

"Oh," he said with sudden disdain. "That's Draco Malfoy."

"So is he some big shot or something?" asked Jeremiah.

"No, but his dad is. Lucius Malfoy is one of the school's governors and they come from a really old family with a lot of influence in the Ministry," explained Ron.

"So because they're rich and powerful they think they can treat everyone else like trash," said Devin.

"Yeah, pretty much," replied Ron.

"Well, I for one am not going to let him ruin our day," I said positively.

"Right!" agreed Brooke passionately. "I say next we go to the cauldron shop."

"Agreed!" I said, linking arms with her and strolling back down towards The Leak Cauldron, where Potage's Cauldron Shop was.

After getting their cauldrons and dragging Devin away from one that was solid gold, we headed to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment where we bought our brass scales, glass phials, and collapsible telescopes. The telescopes made it easier to fit more things in our cauldrons, which had basically become our shopping bags.

"Instead of going to Flourish and Blott's for our books why don't we go to the Second-Hand Book Shop?" I suggested.

"They're a lot cheaper and some of the books are brand new," said Ron.

We walked across the street and down the road to the book shop. They had all of the books we needed, and some of them were actually brand new like Ron had said.

While waiting in line behind the others to check out I spotted Ron looking at the comic book stand. When Jeremiah finished paying he met up with Ron and they both walked outside to wait in front of the store. Making sure both of their, backs were turned I quickly grabbed the comic book Ron had been staring at, _The Adventure of Martin Miggs, The Mad Muggle, Issue #1_ , and put it with my other books.

"Oh, good if you hadn't of grabbed it, I would have," said Brooke knowingly.

After we finished, we thanked the young wizard at the desk and walked out the door and back into the sunny street.

"Ron, we have something that we want to give you," said Brooke, taking the comic book from my hand. "We're really thankful that your family opened your home to us, so we thought we'd get you a gift as thanks."

Jeremiah and Devin looked clueless, but went with it. Ron looked at the comic book that Brooke handed to him and his eyes lit up They looked like the fireworks that had awoken me from my slumber this morning.

"Thanks!" he said excitedly. "Seriously, I'm really grateful,"

He had an extra skip in his step as we made our way down to the Apothecary to get supplies for potions.

"Are we done now?" asked Devin.

"Yep, but I'd like to go see Mr. Ollivander before we go get our robes," I said.

"Kristin and I always liked going in and looking at the wands every time we were here," explained Ron.

"Yeah, I told him last year I'd show him my wand when I got it," I said. "Many wands in the America are made strictly from materials found there."

We walked down to Ollivander's Wand Shop and the bell dinged as the door opened. It was a dark, narrow shop crowded with rows and rows of long boxes stacked on shelves and on top of each other. I never knew how Mr. Ollivander could ever find anything in the shop, but I suppose he had his own system, as disorderly as it was.

"Mr. Ollivander!" I called. "It's Kristin and Ron!"

An old, man with white hair poked his head out from behind one of the many shelves and smiled.

"Bless me soul!" he said hopping down, surprisingly limber for his old age. "I knew you would be coming in at some point. Are these your friends?"

"Yes, sir! This is Devin, Brooke, and Jeremiah."

"Wonderful! I assume you've all received your wands as well?"

"Yes, sir," said Devin.

"I know in America it's a little different to get your wands. I believe you have to get a permit once you turn of age," he said.

"Yeah, it's easier to track dark wizards that way," said Jeremiah.

Mr. Ollivander nodded his head and walked over behind his desk.

"Now let me see your wand. I've been looking forward to it," he excitedly. I fished my wand out of my bag and handed it to him.

"Beautiful!" he said taking an eyeglass and examining it. "Let's see, Dogwood, eleven and a half inches, rougarou hair core, and solid. A very nice wand. It is fiercely loyal to you and has a very playful nature. Although it's curious that it has a rougarou hair for a core. It's typically regarded as having an affinity for dark magic, but in your hands I see that this is a powerful wand that seeks excitement. It certainly suits your personality."

"You were able to tell all of that with just looking at it?" questioned Devin.

"Many things factor into wands, but one things has always been clear. The wand chooses the wizard," Mr. Ollivander explained. "Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to take a look at all of your wands."

"Me next!" said Brooke eagerly grabbing her wand out of her bag.

"Hmm. Cedar, ten and three quarters, slightly springy, and the spine of a white river monster. Very rare! You didn't receive this wand from a wand maker did you?" he said.

"It's been passed down our family every generation. I think my mom said it was rare for it to actually choose an owner though," she said.

"Quite right," he said. "They don't make wands like this at all anymore. Thiago Quintana, who originally made the wands, guarded the secret of luring in the white river monster to his death, which is when the wands were no longer made. You will be a frightening adversary with this wand, especially if someone intends to harm those who you are fond of. I have never met a witch or wizard with a Cedar wand who I would care to cross in a duel. This wand will only go to an owner who is cheerful and optimistic with a big, and sometimes overactive, imagination. I can see why it has been so picky all of these years."

Brooke took back her wand and stared at it in awe.

"I guess I'll go next," said Devin taking his wand out of his back pocket.

"Red Oak, twelve inches, hard, and the hair of a wampus cat. This is an excellent dueling wand. The hair of a wampus cat tends to only favor those with a warriors heart. Although, being Red Oak it always indicates that its owner has a hot temper," laughed Mr. Ollivander. "Do be warned though, keeping your wand in your back pocket isn't the smartest thing to do. Wizards have been known to lose a butt cheek or two."

Brooke, Ron, and I cracked up laughing and I saw Jeremiah quickly remove his from his back pocket.

"Alright, let's see here. Swamp Mahaw wood, twelve and a half inches, reasonably supple, and a thunderbird tail core. It'll take a bit to warm up to you until you prove your worthiness, but once it does it will be very loyal. A perfect wand for every branch of magic, but transfiguration especially. It will be difficult to master this wand, so work hard." Mr. Ollivander said handing Jeremiah's wand back to him.

"I thinks it's time for us to go pick up our robes," said Ron looking at his watch.

"Oh, you're right!' I said. "It was great seeing you Mr. Ollivander! See you later!"

He waved goodbye to us, and we walked out the door and up the street to the retrieve our robes.

"How much time do we have before we need to meet up with everyone?" asked Jeremiah trying to rearrange his cauldron so his robes would fit.

Ron looked at his watch again. "About an hour."

"I think I saw an ice cream shop back that way, how about we go in and eat some," suggested Brooke.

"Perfect Brookie Cookie! I'm tired of lugging this cauldron around all day. My arms better look like Arnold Schwarzenegger's when I'm done," I said.

"Arnold who?" said Ron with a confused look.

"He's a muggle body builder," answered Devin.

We hauled our full cauldrons over to Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor, sat down at a table, and put our things on the floor. A middle-aged wizard with long, brown hair and a short beard walked over to us.

"Long day kids?" he asked smiling.

"Very!" I said.

"What'll it be?"

Each of us ordered our ice-cream, and waited patiently for it to arrive.

"I'm so tired," said Jeremiah leaning back in his chair.

"Stop being a wuss," said Devin.

"Shut up," Jeremiah fired back.

"Now, now, you two, play nice," I said.

"Here comes our ice-cream," said Ron his mouth practically watering.

Mr. Fortescue set down our ice-cream in front of each of us and we dug in. I got a hot fudge sundae, yum!

"You know, I've always wondered something, Kristin," said Ron. "What's your deal with nuts? You eat peanuts, but you won't eat them on ice cream or anything."

"I stopped questioning her habits long ago," said Jeremiah.

"Oh shush!" I replied "I don't' really know myself. I like peanuts by themselves but I don't like them in brownies and stuff."

"Maybe it's a texture thing," said Brooke.

"No, I don't think it's that," I said thoughtfully.

"I think you're just an idiot," said Devin. Boy, he was really on one today.

"Well I think you're a doo doo head," I replied with one of my many wonderfully inventive insults. I scooped out the last of my fudge and pushed the bowl away.

"Your mom won't be mad at us for eating before lunch will she?" asked Jeremiah.

"Don't tell her, and even if you're not hungry, force it down," Ron said cautiously.

I looked out of the window we were sitting near and jumped straight out of my seat. A pair of twins had their faces smushed against the window making ugly faces.

"I don't think my heart can take much more of this," I said putting my hand over it.

Brooke had scooted about two feet away and when she recovered began laughing. The twins walked in the shop with a rather haggard looking Percy.

"What's up with you?" asked Devin.

"Joke shop," he answered before stealing my vacant seat. Ah, that it explains it. He had the unfortunate pleasure of testing out Fred and George's newly acquired arsenal.

"Saw mum, dad, and Ginny heading up to The Leaky Cauldron we better head after them," said George.

We all left the shop and quickly strode up the road back toward the pub. I shoved my cauldron at Fred and said "Be a gentlemen and carry this for me."

"Oi! I've been carrying my own stuff all day!" he protested.

"Yes, but I'm just a weak little girl. Oh, I'm feeling faint," I said placing the back of my hand to my forehead and skipping past him. Grumbling, Fred grudgingly carried my supplies following behind me.


	5. Year 1: Quidditch

Arriving back at The Burrow, we had a late lunch and Brooke and I went upstairs to our room to pack away our new supplies.

"I'm really grateful these trunks have an Extension Charm attached to them," I said setting my cauldron inside filled with my potions ingredients. I wasn't exactly an organized person, but I did try and keep my school supplies divided up by subject so it would be easier to grab and go when I needed them.

"I could probably fit Megie in here," stated Brooke. The cat raised her head up at the mention of her name and gave Brooke a look that said, "I dare you to try."

"Don't worry I won't," she said. The cat laid her head back down on the bed. "Today anyway." A hiss was earned for that little comment and Megie got up and strolled right out the door, her tail high in the air.

"Geez, so sensitive," I said smiling.

Brooke plopped back onto the bed, having finished her packing, and sighed.

"So, what're we going to do this afternoon?" she questioned. "It's nice and sunny outside, we should do something out there."

"OR we could stay inside where it's nice and cool," I suggested. I had sprawled out on the cool wooden floor and wasn't too keen on moving at the moment.

"Oh, quit being a lazy bum," she said, tossing a pillow and hit me in the face.

"Maybe you should try it sometime," I tossed the pillow back at her and missed.

"Oh come on!" she said, getting up and dragging me across the floor by my arms.

"Fine!" I said grudgingly getting up and following her out of the door. We walked across the hall and discovered the boy's room empty.

"They must be in Ron's room," I stated shuffling my feet up the stairs to the attic.

Not bothering to knock on the door, I pushed it open and let myself in. The room was covered wall to wall with posters of the Chudley Cannons, Ron's favorite Quidditch team, zooming about on brooms. His bed even had an orange quilt covering it that Mrs. Weasley had made for him one year.

"Oi! Care to knock?" complained Ron. He was sitting on the floor with Devin and Jeremiah playing Exploding Snap.

"Entertain us. We're bored," I said simply.

"Go entertain yourself," said Jeremiah shooing us out of the room.

"Don't wanna," Brooke said folding her arms like a child.

"Ugh. Fine," Ron said, resigning to the fact that we weren't going to leave them alone. "Let's go play Quidditch or something."

"That's that game played on broomsticks, right?" asked Devin. I'm sure Ron's chatted his ears off about it.

"Yeah, I'll explain the rules to you," said Jeremiah.

"Oh! That sounds fun!" Brooke said with her eyes twinkling with delight.

"Great idea! And we can ask Fred and George to play!" I said, clapping my hands together and walking off. Ron began protesting, but I walked off too quickly before he could lecture me on why that was a bad idea. Psh. It's a great idea.

I headed down to the twins room and knocked on the door. I wasn't going to open the door for fear of something would probably hit me in the face. Like a pie. Not that I have any experience with that or anything. Sort of. Ok, Fine. I opened the door without knocking once and I got hit in the face with a pie that had been booby-trapped to the door. On the bright side it was apple pie. Unfortunately for them, however, it was a pie recently made by Mrs. Weasley. She walloped them good for that one.

"Freddio, Georgieo, open the doorio," I sang. Fred opened the door with a face full of amusement.

"I didn't know you could write such a clever ballad," he quipped.

"One of my many talents, didn't you know?" I smiled back.

"And what need do you have of our assistance today."

"One would like to know if you would like to join us in a round of Quidditch."

"Quidditch?" said George, popping his head up. "One would be correct."

"Perfecto!" I said.

"Did someone say Quidditch?" piped a voice below us. I looked over the railing and saw Ginny sticking her head out looking up at us.

"No, you ca..." I slapped my hand over Fred's mouth.

"You can play Ginny!" I said happily. Fred licked my hand and I drew back in disgust.

"Nasty!" I said, wiping my hand on his shirt.

"We don't want her to play," argued George. "No offense, but we don't want her to get hurt."

"You be nice to your sister and just don't be so rough with her," I scolded them.

"Yes, mum," Fred said rolling his eyes.

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said. "Plus, she's grown up with six older brothers. Don't you think she can handle herself somewhat?'

George opened his mouth to say something and then promptly closed it again.

"She's got a point," he said to Fred.

"Fine," Fred sighed, "but you're watching her."

"Deal," I said. I walked back up to Ron's room and met the others halfway up the staircase joined by Percy now.

"Percy's going to be the ref," said Devin with fake happiness.

"Well, someone's got to keep you lot in line," he said with an air of importance. I rolled my eyes and walked back down the stairs again. My legs were going to look fabulous after all of this stair climbing.

By the time we got outside to where the broomsticks were kept (an old, stone outhouse made into a broom shed) Ginny was bouncing happily on the balls of her feet.

"Alright, before we go flying off into the distance we need to choose our teams," I said.

"You want I should get the straws?" asked Fred.

"I want," I replied back.

"I really want to know where he's keeping those," Jeremiah whispered to Brooke.

"Up your butt," Brooke replied with a straight face. "They're butt straws."

Everyone, except Percy, fell out laughing. There was just no topping that one.

"Butt straw?" Fred said holding out the straws to me. Wiping tears from my eyes I quickly chose a straw and tried to compose myself. After everyone had chosen a straw, we separated into our respective teams. Ginny, Fred, Jeremiah, and I were on one team and Devin, George, Brooke, and Ron were on the other.

"We need to pick a team captain," stated Jeremiah. Ginny's hand shot up in the air. Fred opened his mouth to protest and I elbowed him in the ribs.

"You can be captain, Ginny," I said. I knew I was spoiling her, but I didn't have any younger siblings to spoil of my own and she was just so adorable. I found myself suddenly relating to the elderly. I just wanted to pinch her cheeks.

We walked over to the broom shed and each of us collected a broom. The broom I grabbed was a Cleansweep Four.

"Here, you better start off with this," Ron said handing a Comet 260 to Devin. "It's not the best, but it's great for beginners."

Percy grabbed a large ball from the shed and we followed him to the makeshift Quidditch pitch in the orchard. There were two hoops made out of wire facing opposite of each other about two hundred feet apart. It was nearly half the length of an actual Quidditch pitch and the goals were only about ten feet high. The Weasley's didn't want them to go above the tree tops because weaving in and out of the tress made for good practice. It also made for quick reflexes when a stray branch popped out at you. I've been the victim of said branches once…or twice….or three times. Heh.

A large line was drawn halfway across the pitch to indicate the middle and the starting point. Percy stood in the middle of the line with the team captains, Ginny and Brooke, on either side of him. All of the other players lined up behind them in a row except for the keepers who stood in front of the goal posts. Jeremiah was the Keeper on our team and Fred, Ginny, and I were Chasers. Devin, was the Keeper for the other team and George, Brooke, and Ron were all Chasers. It was probably best that Devin was the Keeper on their team because he was new to a broomstick. He would have limited movement as a Keeper so he could concentrate more on getting used to the broom without having to try and keep up with his teammates.

"Players, mount your brooms," Percy said. "First team to reach fifty points wins."

I put my broom between my legs, kicked off gently from the ground so I would merely hover, and placed my feet on the foot pegs. We would only get a little bit higher than the goalposts during the game, so I was comfortable riding a broom. Of course, I usually stayed at about five feet anyway. If I ended up falling off, which would most likely happen, it wouldn't be near as bad like falling from ten feet.

I saw Devin was a rather shaky with his broom, but he had a determined look on his face that he would absolutely not fall off. I'm sure he was upset that he'd be missing the action as a Chaser, but there was really no helping it.

"Set!" shouted Percy. I grip my broom handle tight and lowered my body flatter.

"Go!" Percy tossed the Quaffle into the air and Ginny caught it and shot past Brooke with surprising speed. Brooke just hovered there frozen with her mouth agape. It was an improved look for her.

As Ginny barreled down toward Devin, Fred and I took off after her in an effort to catch up. Brooke, finally coming out of her stupor, started off after us. Ginny was too far ahead though, even we wouldn't be able to catch up to her.

Devin, still trying to get a feel for his broom, was caught off guard and didn't see Ginny in time to block her. She threw the ball at the hoop and it soared right past his right shoulder with ease.

"Ten points to Ginny's team!" shouted Percy in the distance.

Devin picked up the Quaffle and threw it back in, cursing his incompetence in missing it. I wished he wouldn't be so hard on himself.

George caught the Quaffle and zoomed off towards our goal with it. Brooke attempted to stay beside him, but I faked like I was going to run my broom into hers and it made her flinch and fly off course. I flew past her, and right up to George. He saw me and swiftly turned his broom, hitting me with the tail end of it, causing me fly off to the side and lose the grip on my broom. I lost control and began to plummet to the Earth with a loud scream. Goodbye cruel world.

Suddenly, a hand stretched out and quickly grabbed me by my own hand. I cried out in pain as my body came to a sudden halt throwing all of my weight onto my arm. I was surprised it didn't pull it out of its socket. I looked up and saw Fred straining to hold onto me, his face set in a grimace. I imagine his arm felt the same as mine did.

"Geez, you need to lose some weight," he said. My mouth fell open. How rude!

"Maybe you should gain some muscle!" I shot back, rather offended.

He grinned and lowered me to the ground safely. I waltzed over to where my broom had fallen, a few feet away, and mounted it once again.

"But thanks," I mumbled, as I kicked off and flew back up into the air. He flew beside me and gave me a cocky smile. Ugh. There would be no dealing with him after this.

"Ten points to Brooke's team!" we heard Percy yell.

During the fall George had somehow managed to score against Jeremiah. Ginny caught the Quaffle from Jeremiah and bobbed in and out of trees trying to shake off Ron who was close behind her. He managed to catch up to her and smacked the ball from her hand. He attempted to do a sharp turn around, but unfortunately his broom had other ideas. The older brooms we rode weren't made for sharp turns so you had to give yourself enough of a wide berth to have room to turn.

Ron dropped the ball and I was low enough to the ground where I flew over and caught it. Heading back towards their goal, I ducked under some branches and threw the ball towards Devin, which he promptly caught with ease. I noticed he was getting more comfortable with his broom.

He threw the ball back into play and it was caught by Brooke. She flew off toward our goal, but didn't notice Fred flying under her. Once he was even enough with her, he rose upward and slapped the ball from the underside, causing her to drop the ball. Ginny was ready for it and caught it with ease. Fred smirked when she caught the ball and I knew he didn't regret letting her play.

Being lighter than the rest of us, she was a lot faster and harder to catch. The makings of a good Chaser, or even a Seeker. She easily weaved in and out of the trees and lugged the ball straight at the goal. Devin missed it by mere millimeters. She turned to me and grinned brightly, having scored our second goal.

"Ginny's team earns ten points!" shouted Percy.

Ron caught the ball from Devin and tossed it to George when he noticed I was getting to close to him. I reached out for it, but it flew over my head and George caught it successfully and raced over to Jeremiah. George pitched it over towards Jeremiah and he blocked it with his foot. When he kicked the ball it propelled straight back at George and smacked him right in the face. I nearly fell off my broom again laughing. I even saw Percy cover his mouth to try and stifle a laugh. I'm sure it was pretty satisfying for him, seeing as how they tortured him in Diagon Alley that morning.

The ball fell to the ground and I shot down towards it and picked it up off the ground. Maneuvering my broom back upward I noticed Brooke heading down to try and block me off. When I attempted to veer off to the right, she grabbed the front handle of my broom throwing me off balance. What is with everyone trying to knock me off my broom today?! I noticed Fred hovering between two trees and hollered out to him.

"Fred! Catch!"

He whipped his head around at me and I clumsily tossed the ball to him. He caught it and zoomed off in the direction of their goal with Ginny right beside him.

"FOUL!" Percy shouted throwing his hand in the air. Every one of us halted and flew over to Percy.

"Foul against Brooke's team," he said looking toward her.

"For what?" she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Blagging. You grabbed Kristin's broom. They get a penalty shot."

She folded her arms in a huff and rolled her eyes. I promptly stuck my tongue out at her. She then attempted to kick my leg, but missed. Such a violent child.

"I'll do it since I already have the ball," Fred said.

He flew over in front of Devin and stopped about fifty feet away. He zoomed off toward him and Devin stayed stock still expecting a frontal attack. When he was close enough, Fred caught him off guard and flew up and tossed the ball down below him and through the hoop.

"Ten points to Ginny's team!" shouted Percy.

So our team had thirty points and Brooke's had ten. The game was going great so far. Devin, rather frustrated at himself, pitched the ball harder than it needed to be. Ron caught it and flew off in the direction of Jeremiah. Brooke rode about seven feet away from him and he tossed the ball when he saw Ginny gaining on him. Brooke caught it, but seeing me gaining on her as well, she had to throw it directly back at him. They played a game of hot potato all the way until they reached the goal. Jeremiah didn't know who to watch and finally settled on Ron, who had the Quaffle. He quickly propelled it back at Brooke and she quickly lugged it at Jeremiah when his attention was still on Ron. It soared past his head and though the hoop.

"Ten points to Brooke's team!" Percy shouted. Brooke whooped and gave a Ron a high five.

"That was brilliant!" Ron said, rather proud of himself.

"Let's just keep it up!" Brooke said, encouraging her teammates.

Jeremiah tossed the ball to me and I bobbed in and out of the trees over to Devin. Brooke, filled with newfound courage barreled over to me. Attempting to knock the ball out of my hand, she got her broom to close to mine and accidently locked her handle with mine.

"FOUL!" we heard Percy shout in the distance. She halted in the air and glided over to him.

"What now?" she said exasperated.

"Blurting. You locked your broom handle with Kristin's."

"It was an accident!" she defended

"Accident or not, it happened and it's a foul. A penalty shot is awarded to Ginny's team."

"Now, now Brookie Cookie, it's only fair," I said.

"Shut up!" she snapped. Well, then!

Still carrying the Quaffle I flew over to Devin and stayed the same distance away as Fred had. He would be ready if I had a sudden change of direction this time. Taking a page out of Brooke and Ron's playbook I decided to use their own maneuver against them. I propelled myself forward and bobbed up and down and in and out of trees so he wouldn't know which way I would come from. Getting just the right amount of distance away I ducked down below him and tossed the ball below and behind him, scoring another goal for our team. He glared daggers at me.

"Ten points to Ginny's team!"

"Serves you right," I said. It felt good scoring against him after his little stunt he pulled this morning.

He picked up the Quaffle and pitched it directly at my face. I ducked and felt it graze the back of my head as it passed over me. George caught it before it hit the ground and raced towards our goal where Jeremiah was ready to block him again. Fred flew under him and hit the ball from its underside again, causing it to fly upward. He caught it, turned around, and headed back to their goal.

Brooke, having grown impatient, lunged at Fred ramming her broom into him causing him to fly off to the right. Didn't she ever learn?

"Dear Bob, woman! Calm yourself!" I yelled.

"FOUL!"

"That's it!" she shouted and she swooped down over to Percy. However, she had no intent of stopping and Percy took off running away from the rabid girl chasing him on a broomstick. She flew low and somehow hooked the handle of the broom onto his belt loop and lifted him in the air.

Everyone lost it. There were howls of laughter mixed with Percy's howls of pain from his Atomic Wedge. Curious as to where she could possibly be taking him, we followed her. She zoomed out of the orchard, past the garden, and the house with Percy struggling the entire way. She stopped and hovered directly over the pig pen.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" he yelped, all pride forgotten as he tried to awkwardly reach back and grab the broom handle.

I landed my broom and ran over to the stone wall of the pen. I couldn't fly in this condition. I was crying with laughter. Jeremiah had long since fallen off of his broom and laid on his back chortling.

Brooke gave him an evil grin and cackled menacingly. She dipped the tip of her broom and Percy slid off with a shriek. He fell with a noisy slash in a large pile of mud.

We were full out guffawing at this point and it made it all the worse when Percy rose up covered head to toe in mud. My cheeks hurt, my stomach hurt, and I had tears rolling down my face. Brooke landed down in the green grass and gave a proud smile.

Percy was infuriated. He tried to stalk out of the mud angrily, but it just made it all the funnier when he squished every time he took a step. The pigs were squealing and running around from having the daylights scared out of them and were running around in the pen. One of them ran straight in front of Percy and he tripped over it, falling face first, back into the mud.

Everyone was rolling. The twins were on their hands and knees pounding their fists into the ground. I felt like a white girl at a Starbucks. I couldn't even.

Finally having made his way out of the pen and dripping with mud, he stalked off toward the house muttering to himself.

"I don't think he'll ever foul you again," chortled George.

"Nope," she said simply.

"I feel like I'm going to die. I can't possibly laugh anymore," said Ginny with her arms thrown out to the side and tears stains on her rosy cheeks.

"You know he's not going to speak to us for a while," I said.

"That's a bad thing?" said Devin.

"At least it will keep him quiet about being prefect for a while," said Ron.

"I doubt it," said George. "I think he's just merely added Brooke to his hit list."

"Who else is on there?" asked Jeremiah.

"Us," said Fred gesturing to George and himself.

George sat up and directed his attention to Brooke, who was leaning against her broomstick next to him.

"Well, at least we'll have some company in detention this year," George said poking her in the ribs. She let out an uncontrollable giggle and swatted his hand away. She was VERY ticklish. George got a smirk on his face and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her down next to him. He took both hands and tickled her sides while she squealed and squirmed to get away from him.

"Oi! Get a room!" Ron said disgusted.

"Just exploiting a weakness is all," said George lifting his hands from her. She laid on the ground next to him, trying to catch her breath.

"You think mummy will owl her parents?" Ginny asked, suddenly concerned.

"Doubt it," I replied. "Percy's to proud to let Mr. and Mrs. Weasley see him like that. He's probably trying to get as much mud off or him as possible before enters the house."

"Mum would kill him, if he tracked in mud," Ron said.

"Speaking of getting cleaned up," said Devin. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"That's not a bad idea," added Jeremiah. "We better get in there before Percy uses it." Devin and Jeremiah both got up and headed over to the house.

"We better put the brooms up," I said.

"I'll go get the Quaffle," said Ginny. She mounted her broom and took off toward the orchard.

"She's just looking for an excuse to fly longer," said Ron.

"Shush, and help us pick up the brooms," Brooke said poking him in the back with one.

After putting away our brooms we walked back to the house and into our individual rooms. Gathering my clothes together I walked into the bathroom, to take a shower myself. Jeremiah had mentioned to me in passing that Percy had already taken a shower and quickly retreated to his room without a word. I placed my clothes on the nearby cabinet and opened the curtain to start the water. I noticed Percy had cleaned up after himself thankfully. He was smug and arrogant, but he was also a clean freak. I wished I was a clean freak myself, I would procrastinate cleaning as long as I could. Of course I knew better than to do that at the Weasley's. Mrs. Weasley would have my hide.

I quickly showered and walked back into our bedroom and sat on the bed toweling my wet hair. It was my turn to have the bed tonight and I had taken no time in claiming it. I had even instructed Mr. Bobbles to keep Megie off of it, which he happily obliged. I did not want to sleep with itchy cat hair.

Grabbing one of Charlie's journals, I headed up to Ron's room and opened the door.

"Care for some company?" I asked.

"You have got to start knocking!" he yelped, quickly pulling a shirt over himself.

"Oh, it's nothing I haven't seen before," I said waving my hand dismissively. "We used to take baths together remember? Actually, I think my mom has some pictures somewhere."

"Well, they need to be burned," he said, sitting in the floor in front of his school trunk. I walked over to his bed and laid down on it.

"Watcha doing?" I asked leaning towards him. He had started grabbing things out of his trunk and laying them on the floor.

"Trying to make sure I have everything," he said counting his books. I flopped over onto my stomach and stretched out, my bare legs and feet loving the feeling of his soft quilt against them. Charlie's journal lay forgotten next to me.

"A bed is so much better than a cot," I sighed.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to mine,"

I buried my head into his pillow and looked up when I heard a squeak come from the night stand on my left. A cage rested on top of it, with an grey rat inside of it taking a drink from his water bottle.

"Oh!" I said sitting up. "I forgot about Scabbers!"

"I'm surprised he's still alive," he said nonchalantly

I opened his cage and picked him up. He was old, so his fur wasn't exactly soft like it should've been and he had bald patches and a missing toe on his right paw. I set him in my lap and began scratching his head.

"What's he doing in your room though?"

"Mum and Dad got Percy an Owl, Hermes, when he became Prefect so Percy gave him to me."

"Well that was nice of him."

"Yeah, but he's had to stay in his cage since you've been here. Brooke's cat and all."

I nodded my head knowingly. Megie would definitely love to get her claws in him. I put Scabbers back in his cage and laid back on Ron's bed with my arms behind my head. I looked out at the window and saw that the sky was turning an orange-yellow. Mrs. Weasley would be nearly finished cooking supper soon. A knock on the door resounded, drawing me from my stupor. I turned my head toward it and saw Brooke step in.

"There you are!" she said. She walked over to me and flopped on top of me. I let out an "oof" and Ron just shook his head.

"Is nothing sacred anymore?" he said, closing his trunk. I tilted my head like I was thinking deeply.

"Nope. Not really," I said.

He sighed and walked over to the door. "Well, I'm going to help mum with supper. You two. Out!"

"Le gasp! You don't trust us?" said Brooke feigning shock.

"Nope. Not really," he said mocking me.

"Fine," I said pushing Brooke's large bottom from on top of me.

We walked down stairs and passed Jeremiah and Devin, who were in the living room looking through they're school books. Entering the kitchen we saw Mrs. Weasley putting food on serving plates.

"Need any help, mum?" asked Ron.

"Yes actually. Ron could you and Kristin set the food on the table and Brooke could you set the plates and utensils?" Mrs. Weasley answered.

We wordlessly set ourselves to our tasks and had the table spread out within a few minutes. One by one the members of the household filed into the kitchen and everyone took their places at the table. The meal was ate with much vigor on our parts. We were starved from playing Quidditch all afternoon. Not to mention all of the laughing. Percy ignored us the whole time and deemed his parents were the only ones worthy of his attention at the time. It was a rather peaceful dinner come to think of it.

Afterwards everyone helped to clean up and store the leftovers (which wasn't much) and Mr. Weasley asked that we meet in the living room. Everyone found a place to sit as Mr. Weasley stood in front of the fireplace. Brooke and I sat in the window seat.

"I see that everyone's gathered around now," began Mr. Weasley. "The train leaves at eleven o'clock in the morning so I expect every one of you to be up by at least eight thirty. We'll eat breakfast then we'll be loading your luggage into the car and taking it to London. While at the train station we'll be in the amidst many muggles so I request that you please stay close to each other and cause as little attention to yourselves as possible. Fred, George, no funny business. Well, I think that's it. Off to bed now you lot."

We all got up from our seats and shuffled up to our respective bedrooms. Mrs. Weasley put the lights out behind us. Brooke and I brushed our teeth and got into our beds.

"I can't believe we're really going to Hogwarts!" she said bouncing up and down. Megie promptly scratched her on her foot to settle down.

"Fine, I'm laying down," she grumbled. The cat looked rather pleased with herself.

"I'm so excited!" I said. "But I'm super nervous too."

"Me too! I hope we're in the same house!"

"Even if we're not, we've got to hang out as much as possible."

"Definitely! I don't know how I'm going to sleep tonight."

"By closing your eyes."

"Ha, ha," Brooke said sarcastically.

There was a light rap on the door and Mrs. Weasley poked her head in.

"Night, girls," she said flicking her wand and blowing out the candle.

"Night!" we both said in unison.

I rolled over towards the window and gathered the blanket up to my shoulders. So comfy. Mr. Bobbles was sleeping on the headboard of the bed tonight and I went to sleep hearing his soft hooting


	6. Year 1: The Hogwarts Express

_Thank you for all of the encouraging reviews and messages! They really keep me motivated!_

"Oi, wake up," said a familiar voice. I cracked my eyes open slightly and saw Ron lightly shaking Brooke. I scoffed. He wouldn't get her up that way.

"Wake up," he said shaking her with more fervor. I opened my eyes wider enjoying the show.

"Brooke!" he said loudly. Wait for it.

"WHAT!?" she said shooting up and slamming her forehead into his. There it was.

"Bloody hell!" he said gripping his forehead.

"What happened?" she said, half asleep. She didn't even feel the impact. I let out a laugh and both of them looked at me in confusion.

"You could've warned me if you were awake!" he said.

"Yes, but this way's much funnier," I said, still laughing.

"Mum, says it's time for you to get up. She wants you down for breakfast in ten minutes," he said walking out of the door. I stretched and walked over to my trunk. I changed into some plain jeans and an LSU T-shirt. Let's just assume most of my wardrobe consists of purple and gold. I may be a witch, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good, no-maj football game.

Once Brooke was finished we walked downstairs and joined the rest of the family for breakfast.

"Good morning!" piped Ginny happily.

"Morning," we said in unison.

"Oh!" said Mrs. Weasley. "I've packed each of you some sandwiches for the trip."

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Jeremiah finishing his plate of eggs.

"You're welcome, dear," she said standing up and gathering up the remaining plates. "Now we don't have long, so I want all of you to gather up your trunks and bring them down to the car. Arthur will load them in the car for you."

We trotted back up the stairs, gathered our luggage, and put our animals back in their cages. Megie was rather reluctant and Mr. Bobbles flapped his wings threateningly at her until she climbed in.

"Good boy," I said petting him on the head. "You'll soon have plenty of room to fly around and you'll have other owls to keep you company."

"Megie, all I ask is that you don't eat Scabbers," Brooke pleaded. Megie turned around in her kennel and faced away from her.

"I'd say that's promising," Brooke said confidently.

"Uh huh," I replied sarcastically.

I threw my bag over my shoulder and stuck my wand down inside along with my money. I picked up my trunk and Mr. Bobbles' cage and we struggled to carry our things down the stairs. We sounded like an entire herd of wildebeests. Finally, making it out the door we walked down the driveway where the Weasley's car was sitting outside of the garage. It was a blue Ford Anglia with an Undetectable Extension Charm attached to it. It could fit all of us comfortably and Mrs. Weasley was none the wiser. She simply thought all muggle's cars were like this.

"This it?" Mr. Weasley asked us.

"Yes, sir. This is everything," answered Brooke. It looked like we were the first ones to make it out.

"I think I'm going to go see if anyone else needs help," said Brooke.

"Alright. I'll go help Mrs. Weasley then," we trotted back off to the house and I went to the kitchen while Brooke went upstairs. Ginny was already in the kitchen helping her mother. She had large armful of sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap.

"Oh, good!" Ginny said relieved. "Here take some of these, would you?" She crammed some sandwiches into my arms

"Mrs. Weasley, why don't you just put these in your purse?" I asked.

"Well, I would, but I don't want them to get crushed by my books," she said, packing the aforementioned books into her purse. There had to be at least three of them. The drive wouldn't be nearly long enough for her to read three.

"Oh, are they cookbooks?" I asked curiously.

"No. They're books by Gilderoy Lockhart," she said with a dreamy look in her eye.

"I think I've heard of him," I said, cocking my head to the side trying to think of where I'd heard that name before. "Oh! Is he the guy that goes around encountering all of those dark creatures and writing books about them?"

"Yes, he is!" she said excitedly. "He's brilliant!"

"Mum fancies him," giggled Ginny.

"Ginevra Weasley!" gasped Mrs. Weasley with a visible blush.

"Ain't no shame in your game, ay Mrs. Weasley?" I laughed. She covered her face with both hands clearly embarrassed.

"Out to the car, both of you!" she said, scooting us out of the kitchen. I just couldn't help it. She got so easily flustered.

"Honestly, he is quite handsome," said Ginny.

"Hmm, maybe I should pick up one of his books." We walked out of the front door and into the sun. It was cooler today than it had been yesterday.

"I could get mummy to owl you one."

"That'd be great. Then maybe I could see what all the hubbub is about. His books seem right up my alley."

Ginny and I reached the car and the others were getting their luggage situated. Percy and Devin were helping Mr. Weasley load everything thing in the trunk of the car. We handed out the wrapped sandwiches to each person and I put mine in my bag, along with my wand. Ron simply stuffed his in his pocket. So much for them not being crushed.

When Mrs. Weasley finally made it out to the car, we loaded up and started down the road. Ginny, Percy and Ron ended up in the front seat with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the rest of us were in the back. Those of us with animals simply held them in our lap. The car fit all of us comfortably with room to spare.

"Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" said Mrs. Weasley. "Amazing how much room this car has."

She took out one of her books and happily began reading. No one said a word. We didn't dare correct her that Mr. Weasley had put a charm on the car. He could get in big trouble with the Ministry for using it on a muggle object. I noticed he was loosening the collar around his neck nervously.

"Shouldn't take us more than an hour to get to the station," he said, changing the subject.

We eventually hit the motorway and took it into London. Mr. Weasley parked in the parking lot at St. Pancras Station across the street from Kings Cross Station and the boys helped unload the luggage.

"Why are we parking here, Mr. Weasley?" I asked, taking my owl and trunk from him.

"Kings Cross doesn't have a car park," he replied.

"You need me to carry your owl?" asked Devin.

"That'd be great," I said, handing Mr. Bobbles to him. Such a gentlemen. I noticed George looking at Devin and I and he quickly turned and looked at Brooke.

"Brooke, I'll take your cat," offered George. Well, what do we have here?

"Thanks," she said, handing Megie to him without hesitance. There was a hiss of protest heard from within the kennel.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Brooke said.

"All set?" asked Mr. Weasley. "Good. Let's go."

We followed Mr. Weasley across the road to a long and massive building. We were entering on the left side, but I was able to catch a glimpse of the trains in the train yard in the back. The entrance was a large dome with triangular glass panes. It looked like it had been added to the station in recent years.

Stepping inside of the station my eyes widened at the massive structure in front of me. Several steel beams crisscrossed on the floor and rose up, spreading out like a reverse waterfall to form the entire ceiling. Behind the steel structure lay many eateries where passersby could rest while waiting on a train and it also held the entranceways to different platforms. Above the entrances and restaurants was a timetable and nowhere on it did it mention Platform 9 ¾. Curious.

"Amazing what these muggles are capable of without magic," said Mr. Weasley gazing at the ceiling.

The station was bustling with a mixture of muggle and wizard folk alike. It was easy to tell them apart just from their attire. While some wizards were semi-successful in blending in, like the Weasleys, others were not. One man had on powder blue robes with a simple baseball cap placed on his head. He drew quite a lot of attention. Our owls, by themselves, were drawing many looks.

Mr. Weasley walked stiffly over to a section where a muggle man was giving out trolleys to those with quite a bit of luggage.

"Good morning," he said cheerfully. "Quite a bit of folks with owls today."

"Yes," agreed Mr. Weasley. "There's a National Owl Convention held every year. Our family regularly attends it."

Nice save! The man didn't look like he completely bought the story, but shrugged and decided not to question it further. He handed the trolleys out to us and I placed my trunk on the bottom and Mr. Bobbles on top of it.

"This way kids." Mr. Weasley waved his hand for us to follow him. We walked off to the left and to the entrance of Platforms 9 through 11. We entered our tickets into the turnstiles and proceeded through to the correct Platform. It was crowded and difficult to maneuver our trolleys without bumping into people or each other. Jeremiah threatened that if I hit him in the back of the legs one more time he'd throw me onto the train track. Heh. My bad.

"It's the same year after year. Always packed with muggles of course," complained Mrs. Weasley. I would've mentioned we WERE in a muggle train station, but I valued my life.

"Mummy, can't I go?" Ginny whined, pulling on her mother's hand.

"You're not old enough, now be quiet," she said coming to a stop beside Mrs. Weasley.

"So….um….where exactly are we getting on?" asked Devin.

"Right here," said Mr. Weasley pointing at a clearly solid wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Well that explains everything.

"Uh huh…." Brooke was just as confused as me. And that didn't take much.

"Percy, why don't you go first?" suggested Mrs. Weasley. Better him than me.

"Maybe the wall will knock some sense into him," whispered Jeremiah out of the corner of his mouth. I simply nodded my agreement. We could only hope.

Percy stood a few feet back from the wall and took off in a run pushing his trolley. My jaw dropped. He was there one minute and gone the next. He literally just ran through a wall and disappeared. Someone call Professor X! There's a mutant on the loose!

"Next!" called Mr. Weasley. Devin and Jeremiah both walked up at the same time.

"Ladies first," Jeremiah grinned. He got a good punch in the arm for that little comment. Sigh. Boys.

Devin ran at the wall and vanished with Jeremiah close behind.

"Fred, you next," motioned Mrs. Weasley

"He's not Fred, I am," proclaimed one twin.

"Honestly woman, and you call yourself our mother," said the other. Mrs. Weasley sighed with exasperation.

"Oh, I'm sorry, George," she apologized

"Only joking. I am Fred," said the twin and they both took off before Mrs. Weasley could protest.

"Honestly, those two," she said with a slight smile. I knew she'd miss them while they were at school. Although, probably not the explosions coming from their bedroom. Mr. Weasley motioned Ron forward and he adjusted Scabbers to make sure his cage wouldn't fall off midstride.

"Excuse me!" I turned my head and saw a messy haired boy with glasses walking up to us. His clothes looked like they were four times too big for him. He had a school trunk just like ours as well as a Snowy owl in a cage. Mr. Bobbles started going bonkers when he saw the other owl.

"Would you calm down!" I said poking him through the cage. He snapped at my finger, but settled down nonetheless. He didn't break his gaze on the owl, however. The boy looked unsure and nervous and began to stutter through his words.

"C-Could you tell me how to-,"

"How to get onto the platform?" Mrs. Weasley interrupted. He looked suddenly relieved and relaxed a bit.

"Yes, not to worry, dear," she reassured him. "It's their first time at Hogwarts as well."

Brooke and I gave him warm smiles while Ron just stood there like the awkward mess he was. We need to work on his social skills.

"All you've got to do is run straight at the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous." He did, indeed, look nervous.

She put her hand on the boys back and led him in front of Ron. The boy took a deep breath and broke out into a run towards the wall, where he quickly vanished.

"What a nice boy. You should try and make friends with him Ron," Mrs. Weasley said absently.

"Mum…," he cringed. Brooke and I stifled our laughter and he shot us a dirty look. To avoid any possible further embarrassment from his mother, Ron wordlessly ran into the magical barrier without a second look back.

"Ahem, you first," I said holding my hand out toward that wall.  
"No, no, no you first," Brooke said doing the same.

"No, I insist," I said a bit more firmly.

"I'm going to petrify both of you and throw you through if one of you doesn't go!" cried Mrs. Weasley.

And with that, Brooke hurried into the barrier with me following close behind. There was no sensation going through it. It was just like entering into a darkened hallway and as quickly as I entered it, I was on the other side of it.

Looking back I saw a solid brick wall, but looking forward I saw a long, scarlet steam engine. Its blast pipe pumped steam into the air. Billowing clouds of white smoke fogged the area. People were hanging out of the train's compartment windows saying goodbye to their families and saying hello to their friends from the previous year. You could tell who the first years were by merely glancing around. Not only were we shorter than everyone else, but most you could tell were very nervous.

Pushing our trolleys down the crowded platform, we met with the others who were parking their trolleys and adjusting their luggage. I noticed Fred and George had wandered off to one of the train's cars and were helping a boy with his luggage. It looked like the same boy from before.

Devin grabbed Mr. Bobbles for me and I held onto my trunk. Mrs. Weasley walked over to us and nearly burst into tears.

"I'm just so happy," she said tearfully. She grabbed a hand each on Ron and I and held them tight. "It seems like just yesterday, you two were running around in your knickers in the back yard!"

"Mum!" Ron yelled, mortified.

"Oh, really now?" said Jeremiah with a sly grin. "You wouldn't happen to have any pictures would you Mrs. Weasley?"

"Oh! I've got a whole album," she said happily. Jeremiah, Brooke, and Devin all looked at each other with pursed lips. It wasn't THAT funny. I didn't really care that Mrs. Weasley or my mother owned said photos, heck, I didn't care if people knew about our childhood moments, but I certainly didn't want them share with the world in picture form.

"MUM!" Ron yelled, louder this time. His whole face had turned as red as the train.

"I've got to get going mother," interrupted Percy. I noticed that at some point he had changed into his school robes and had a shiny silver badge on his chest. "The prefects have two compartments all to themselves." His head was growing bigger with each day.

"Oh, alright," she said sighing and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He quickly hugged his father as well and walked off to his fancy shmancy compartment.

Mrs. Weasley then turned to the twins and poked a finger in George's chest.

"I expect you two to behave yourselves this year!" she began. "If I get one more owl that you've blown up a toilet or something-"

"We've never blown up a toilet," interrupted George.

"Great idea though, thanks mum!" added Fred.

"It's not funny!" she fumed.

"Don't worry Mrs. Weasley, we'll keep them in line!" I chimed in. She gave an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, that's what worries me."

"I'm offended!" Brooke said in a mocking tone.

Mrs. Weasley ignored her and turned to Brooke, Devin, and Jeremiah.

"Now, I know how difficult it will be for you three to be so far away from home, but don't hesitate to owl me if you need anything."

"Yes, our home is your home," smiled Mr. Weasley.

She then turned to Ron and I and hugged us both at the same time.

"You two have a good first year, make sure to bath often, and keep your grades up. I don't want to hear about you slacking off." She would definitely hear about us slacking off.

Ginny began to suddenly cry and I hugged her as well.

"Don't cry Ginny," said Fred reassuringly. "We'll send you loads of owls." She sniffled into my shirt and peeked over at him.

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat," joked George. I saw Mr. Weasley smack his hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.

"George!" squealed Mrs. Weasley. Ginny giggled and released me. I knew it would be hard for her. She's always had at least one of her siblings to keep her company and now she's was going to be all alone. I knew how she felt. I experienced the same thing when my own sister left for Ilvermorny and I wasn't able to see her. As soon as she came home, she would flit back to school in just a few weeks.

"We better get going Mrs. Weasley. The train will probably be leaving soon," Brooke said.

"Oh! Your right," she said. We gave Mr. Weasley a quick hug and she ushered us off to the train. It took a minute of heaving and hoeing for all of us to finally get onto one of the cars. The corridors were narrow as we searched in each compartment looking for a place where all of us could fit. Fred and George had already left to go join one of their friends in his compartment, leaving just the five of us.

"We may end up having to split up," said Devin from behind me.

"But that means I have to be social," complained Brooke.

"There's only one person in this one," said Ron coming to a halt. He opened the compartment and stuck his head in.

"Excuse me," he said to the resident inside. Ron was in front of me and Brooke was behind him, so I couldn't see who he was speaking with. "Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."

The person inside must've given their approval because Ron walked inside. We stepped inside and saw the boy from earlier. After placing our luggage into the overhead racks, we sat down in the red seats. I situated Mr. Bobbles between my legs on the floor. Ron, Brooke, and I sat across the seat from the boy, and Devin and Jeremiah sat next to him.

"I'm Ron, by the way," he said extending his hand to the boy, "Ron Weasley." The boy took it and shook his hand.

"I'm Kristin Hammons," I said introducing myself. "And this is Brooke Landers, Jeremiah Pritchard, and Devin Skipper."

"You realize we can introduce ourselves, right?" said Devin.

"Well, I just thought it would be easier to just go ahead and get everyone in there," replied. "But I apologize, I didn't realize you woke up with a stick up your bum today."

"You two done yet?" asked Jeremiah.

"No!" we both said in unison.

"Well, I'm not listening to you two argue the whole way so be quiet," he snapped back. "Besides, he hasn't even gotten a chance to introduce himself yet." The boy was simply watching us with a smile on his face.

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Every one of us froze and just gawked at him like he had sprouted a second head.

"So-so it's true," Ron said quietly. "I mean do you really have the-the…"

"The what?" asked Harry.

"Scar," Ron whispered. I gave him a swift kick in the shin.

"OW!"

"Geez, Ron, you can't just ask people questions about their scars. It's rude!" I scolded.

"Really, it's no problem," laughed Harry, "but yeah, I have it." He lifted up his bangs to reveal a lightening shaped scar on his forehead.

"Wicked," replied Ron. I had to admit, it was pretty amazing.

You-Know-Who wasn't as big of an influence in the U.S. like he was in Britain, but he did cause quite a bit of a panic. People were paranoid that Death Eaters would pop up and suddenly try to overthrow the ministry. The MACUSA thought that after taking over Europe, he was sure to go after the U.S. Kind of how like Hitler did with World War II. The MACUSA tried to stay out of it altogether in hopes that he would leave the U.S. alone, but I personally think it was pretty foolish. If they had helped Britain, they may have been able to prevent some unnecessary deaths or perhaps stopped him all together. Of course there's nothing to be done about it now, it's all in the past.

"The trains moving," said Jeremiah, looking out of the window. The people on the platforms were all waving goodbye to the train as it rode by.

"I hadn't even felt it move," mentioned Brooke.

"So do you know loads of magic already?" Harry asked.

"Not really," replied Ron. "We can fly on brooms, but that's about it. The Reasonable Restriction for Underage Wizardry prevents us from using magic before we're seventeen outside of school."

"Eighteen for us though," said Brooke.

"Yeah, but that's only in the U.S," said Jeremiah. "We'll be able to use it freely at seventeen in Britain, we just won't be able to use it back home until we're eighteen."

Harry suddenly looked worried.

"So, will I get in trouble for accidently making some glass vanish at a snake enclosure at a zoo?"

"No," I laughed. "It's normal for us to accidently use our magic when we're angry or scared."

"I don't know about you guys, but I want to hear this snake story," said Devin.

"Oh, well, I was at the zoo with my aunt, uncle and cousin and I sort of got mad when my cousin pushed me out of the way when I was looking at this snake. So when he pressed his face against the glass, it disappeared and he fell into the enclosure."

"It didn't eat him, did it?" Brooke said with a worried look. Harry simply laughed.

"No, it just slithered away. He probably would've given the snake indigestion." We all laughed and Ron posed another question.

"So it's true that you live with muggles then?"

"Yeah, but they're horrible. Not all muggles, just the Dursleys. I'm glad I'm able to get away from them for a while."

"So you never knew you were a wizard either?" asked Devin.

"No. did you grow up with muggles as well?"

"Yeah, I'm the first in our family with magic. My mom didn't believe it at first. Thought it was a prank or something, until Kristin's sister showed up and proved her wrong."

"My sister, Cheri, works with muggle born witches and wizards. She helps them and their families come to accept their magical abilities," I explained.

"That's nice. Hagrid came and told me. He's the groundskeeper at Hogwarts. The Dursleys' kept me from getting any of my letters, so he had to track me down and find me."

"I'm not trying to be mean or anything," said Jeremiah. "But you'd think if they didn't like you that would be happy you'd leave."

"Oh I'm sure their throwing a party now that I'm gone, but my Uncle Vernon doesn't like anything abnormal. I think he might've been scared, come to think of it. He started treating me a little nicer, well, ignoring me altogether that is, after Hagrid came. He even gave me Dudley's second bedroom."

"What kind of a kid needs two bedrooms?" stated Devin.

"A spoiled one," answered Harry.

"So where did you sleep before you got the bedroom?" asked Jeremiah.

"A cupboard under the stairs," he said simply. Are you flipping kidding me? These people were terrible! I don't know how Harry stuck it out this long. It'd drive me crazy!

"I'd wish I'd grown up with magical siblings like you guys," Harry sighed, leaning back in the seat.

"I don't have any siblings either," said Jeremiah.

"Not me," said Devin. "My little brother's annoying enough as it is. I can't imagine him with magic."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be mate," said Ron. "I've got six siblings. Charlie was captain of the Quidditch team, Bill's a Cursebreaker for Gringotts, Percy's a prefect now, and Fred and George mess around a lot and make people laugh, but they still get good marks. No one expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it won't matter because they did it first. You never get anything new either. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." Ron gestured to Scabbers in his lap.

My heart felt tight in my chest. I knew Ron felt like this, but this was the first time I was hearing him actually voice it.

"I've got three siblings myself," said Brooke. "I've got an older sister, she goes to Ilvermorny, and I've got two younger sisters. I think their wanting to go to Ilvermorny too."

"So why did you choose to go to Hogwarts?" asked Harry.

"I wanted to see the world," she said smiling. "This is my first step. Of course I wanted to spend my school years with my friends too." Awwww!

The door to compartment opened and an old which stood there with a trolley full of sweets. Sweet mother of Bob. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life.

"Anything off the trolley dears?" she asked.

"No thanks, I'm all set," said Ron holding up the now mushed up sandwiches from his pocket. I saw Harry glance at them and then pull out a pile of money from his pocket. My word. He was freaking loaded.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Ron.

"We'll take the lot," he said. I nearly burst into tears. Brooke launched herself across the seat and gave him a hug while rubbing cheeks with him.

"Bless you child!" she said fawning all over him. Harry had officially gained Brooke's loyalty for life. Ron grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her back to the seat, so Harry could get up and gather up all of the sugary delights.

"Explain to me why I'm friends with you guys again?" asked Jeremiah rubbing his temple.

"Because you love us," I said.

"Because we're adorable," said Brooke.

"Ha!" Devin scoffed.

"No need to deny it," I said standing up and striking a pose like the beautiful model I was. Devin reached across and pushed me back in my seat.

"While, you all discuss how attractive you are, I'll just take a simple peek through all of these," said Jeremiah. He was already opening up a Pumpkin Pasty. Simple peek my foot.

"I'll just take one of these," Devin said plucking a Cauldron Cake from the pile, which was laid out on the seat.

"Oooo! I want a Licorice Wand," I said snatching the one Brooke was about to take a bite out of.

"Hey!" she complained.

"Hey," I said back taking a bite out of it. Her mouth fell open in horror.

"You're such a broomhead!" she said getting another wand. Ron took Scabbers out of his cage and set him on his lap, He began to open his package of sandwiches, which reminded me that we did still have food from Mrs. Weasley. I couldn't very well let them go to waste now could I?

"I'll swap you for one of those," Harry said holding up a Cauldron Cake. Ron didn't even hesitate.

"She always forgets I hate corned beef," he mumbled.

"I think mines roast beef, if you want to switch with me too," I said holding up my own package of sandwiches." I took a bite of the corned beef and it was delicious. Everyone was swapping sandwiches and candy with each other. It was like having an entire feast in our compartment.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?" questioned Harry.

"They mean EVERY flavor," said Ron. "There's chocolate and peppermint, but there's also spinach, liver, and tripe. George swears he got a bogey-flavored one once."

"Try one Harry," said Jeremiah. Oh I had to see this.

Harry took a bite out of a brown bean and raised his eyebrows.

"Baked beans!" he said in shock. Darn I was hoping he got a bad one.

"Let me try one," Devin said reaching over and a grabbing a grey one out of the box. He popped the whole thing in his mouth and made a disgusting face. Success.

"Pepper," he said simply. We laughed and he took a bite out of Chocolate Frog to get the taste out of his mouth.

"These aren't real chocolate frogs, are they?" said Harry holding up a package.

"It's just a spell," answered Ron. "Besides it's the cards you want. Each packs got a famous witch or wizard. I've got about 500 meself, but I don't have Agrippa or Ptolemy."

Harry opened the package and was shocked to see the frog leap onto the window, climb up, and jump to freedom out of the top portion, which had been opened earlier. He looked so heartbroken. I can relate. The loss of food is always heartbreaking

"That's rotten luck. They've only got one good jump in them to begin with," Ron said.

"See, which card you've got!" I said leaning over to get a better look. He grabbed the card form inside the package and looked at it curiously.

"I've got Dumbledore!" he said excitedly.

"I've got about six of him," Ron said proudly.

"Ron, stop bragging," I said. His ears turned pink.

"Wow he's gone!" exclaimed Harry. He held up the card for us to see and there was no one in the picture.

"Yeah, the pictures move," said Jeremiah.

"You know, in the muggle world, people just stay put in photos," Harry explained.

"Do they? They don't move at all?" Ron gave Harry an amazed look and looked at Devin for conformation.

"Nope. They don't move at all," confirmed Devin.

"Weird," replied Ron.

"Sort of like your face," snickered Brooke. The compartment door swung open and a chubby, tearful boy walked in. Oh my gosh! He was so adorable. I had to restrain myself from hugging him.

"You haven't seen a toad have you?" he asked in a panicked tone. "I've lost him."

"Hold on, we'll check," I said, getting on my hands and knees to look under the seats. I saw Brooke checking Megie's mouth. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd eaten him.

"Doesn't look like there's one in here," I said standing back up. "We'll let you know if we find him."

"Thanks," he said with a defeated look. He closed the door and walked down to the next compartment. Poor kid.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," began Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I really can't talk." He turned to the rat in his lap who had a Bertie's box on his head.

"I know I'd be heartbroken if I lost Mr. Bobbles." I stuck my finger through the cage and stroked his wing. He'd been sound asleep since we'd gotten on the train.

"Well, toads aren't' exactly as popular as they used to be," said Jeremiah. "Owls are just far more useful to have around. Toads don't really do anything."

"Pathetic, isn't he?" said Ron holding up the rat.

"A little bit," agreed Harry.

"Fred gave me a spell as to turn him yellow. Want to see?"

"Yeah!"

"Hold up. This ought to be good." Devin sat up to get a better view. Ron got out his wand and cleared his throat. Before he could begin his attempt at magic, the compartment door slid open once more and we were greeted by a girl with long bushy hair.

"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one," she said.

"He was here earlier, but we checked and couldn't find one," replied Brooke. The girl sighed and looked at Ron, whose wand was still in the air, and her face brightened up.

"Oh! Are you doing magic? Let's see then!" she said rather bossily. She reminded me of Percy. Ron raised his wand and cleared his throat once more.

 _Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow_

 _Turn this stupid, fat rat, yellow._

A burst of yellow light erupted from Ron's wand and struck the rat, causing him to squeak. He didn't turn yellow and there was a snort that came from Devin and Jeremiah's direction. The girl gave him a doubtful look.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" she said. "Well, it's not very good is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and they've all worked for me."

She barged her way into the compartment and forced Ron, Brooke, and I to scoot over so she could sit across from Harry. She brought out her wand and pointed it directly at Harry's face and he immediately tensed up.

"For example: _Oculas Reparo."_ Her wand sparked and the tape holding Harry's glasses together vanished and the noseband was now whole again. Our mouths fell open. Harry took off his glasses and examined them.

"Remind me to learn that spell for my glasses," I said, pushing my own up the bridge of my nose.

"Oh I can teach it to you!" she said eagerly. She took a second look at Harry's glasses, which had returned to his face, and her eyes grew wide.

"Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger. And you are…?" she said looking to the rest of like we were chopped liver.

"I'm….Ron Weasley," Ron said with a mouthful.

"Kristin Hammons, Brooke Landers, Jeremiah Pritchard and…." I trailed off and looked at Devin. "I'll let you introduce yourself, knowing how sensitive you are and all." The others snickered, except for Hermione who just looked confused.

"Devin Skipper," he said glaring at me.

"Uh huh…pleasure. You lot better change into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon." She got up and walked to the door before turning around and looking back at Ron. "By the way, you've got dirt on your nose. Did you know?"

After Hermione left and Ron reached up and rubbed his nose where the dirt was, rather embarrassed.

"Well, she's a handful isn't she?" I said, breaking the silence.

"I'll say," said Brooke, "but I wouldn't mind asked her to tutor me. She seems really smart."

"I'll bet she gets in Ravenclaw," I said.

"Whatever house she's in, I don't want to be in it," said Ron.

"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.

"Gryffindor," he replied. "Mum and Dad were in it too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. As long as it's not Slytherin. There's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin and You-Know-Who was one of them." Harry suddenly looked more worried by the minute.

"Wasn't Merlin in Slytherin though?" asked Jeremiah. "You know the old saying. 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'"

"Yeah, there's bound to be plenty of Slytherins who are nice. They can't ALL be bad, right?" said Brooke.

"And don't forget," I added. "Hufflepuff actually has the lowest count when it comes to dark wizards, so it's not like Gryffindor hasn't had their fair share. We should at least see what they're like before we jump to conclusions."

Harry's mood hadn't really lifted any, he was just staring out of the window watching the hills roll by. I think he's just focused in on the fact that the man who killed his parents was a Slytherin. If I was in his position, I'm not sure I'd want to be in that house either.

"We'd probably better clean this mess up," said Brooke, referring to the countless boxes and wrappers on the floor and seats. After picking up the trash, Harry let us divide the treats up between us. There was a small scuffle between Brooke and Devin on who would get the last Cauldron Cake. It ended up with Brooke on the floor and Devin sitting on top of her.

"I think the trains slowing down," said Jeremiah looking out of the window. The hills had changed into flat fields with a river running through in the middle. The plant life did seem to go at a slower pace.

"We'd better change into our robes," he said.

"We'll leave out first so you can change," I said. I grabbed Brooke's arm and led her out into the corridor. A few minutes later and the door open to reveal all four boys dressed in their uniforms.

"Your turn," said Devin walking past and taking our place in the corridor. Brooke and I walked in and grabbed our uniforms out of our trunks. The uniforms for first years were different from the other years. They consisted of a white, button up shirt, a grey sweater, a grey, pleated skirt, knee high socks, and black shoes. We would also get a tie, but we wouldn't get them until after we were sorted into our houses.

"I hate wearing skirts," I complained. "They always show off my man legs." Brooke laughed loudly as she got her sweater on over her white shirt.

"Well, at least you have socks that cover them," she said positively. "There's nothing you can do about your face."

"Hey!" I said rather affronted. I gave her a light punch in the arm and laughed.

We opened up the compartment door and let the boys back in.

"So Kristin," Devin began, "how are those man legs treating you?" I blushed deeply as the boys roared with laughter. I sat down and tried to cover my expose knees with my skirt.

A booming voice interrupted their joyous moment, at my expense, and sounded throughout the train.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

I got my trunk down off of the rack and placed it on the seat. I picked up Mr. Bobbles, who was now awake, and set him on top of the trunk. Now at an optimum position he was able to see Harry's owl again (her name was Hedwig) and he started flipping out once again.

"What's up with your owl?" asked Devin.

"I'm not sure," I answered. "Maybe he doesn't like Hedwig." Harry's owl turned her back on Mr. Bobbles and he calmed down.

"Or maybe he DOES like her," said Brooke. I gasped.

"You don't think..?"

"Oh yeah! Mr. Bobbles has a crush on Hedwig!" she squealed. I made eye contact with my owl and he put his head down. Oh my goodness! He does like her!

"Um…and how exactly do you know this?" questioned Harry.

"Because we're girls," I replied.

"Don't even question it," said Devin, stopping Harry from questioning us more.

Jeremiah opened the compartment door and we entered into the throng of students that had spilled into the corridor. I suddenly felt like an ant with all of these tall people towering over me. The train finally slowed to a stop and we followed the flow of the students down the steps and into the train station.


	7. Year 1: The Sorting Ceremony

The prefects opened the train car doors for us and led us out onto the dark platform. It had become night at some point during our journey and the air had gotten a lot chillier. The stone platform was lit only by a few lanterns built into the ivy covered stone wall. A separate lantern stood over the crowded area and was held by a large man with a while beard.

"That's the guy we saw in Gringotts!" I said, looking over at him. Harry turned his head to look.

"Oh! That's Hagrid!" he said happily. I had a sudden epiphany.

"Hold up, does that mean you're the kid I bumped into at the bank?"

"Wow, small world," Brooke said.

"Firs years'!" called Hagrid waving the lantern around. "Firs' years this way!" We walked over to him and he was so much bigger than I had initially thought. He was at least twice the size of a regular man, and four times as wide.

"Hi, Hagrid!" greeted Harry.

"Hullo, Harry," Hagrid beamed. "Anymore firs, year?! Right then! Mind yer step now and follow me!"

Hagrid led us away from the other students, who were going in the opposite direction, down a slippery path. It was very dark and Jeremiah caught me once when I nearly fell. When we broke through the trees we found ourselves on the shore of a black lake. The river I saw earlier must've joined up with it.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," said Hagrid. We followed him further down to a large dock which had multiple row boats tied to it. Only, there weren't any oars.

Moving my attention from the dock to what stood across the lake, led to a collective gasp from everyone. Sitting atop a high mountain was a monstrous castle. It looked like something off of a postcard. Its many turrets were silhouetted against the moonlit, night sky and light shown from the windows and towers.

"We're going to school there?!" exclaimed a boy with an Irish accent.

"Someone pinch me," said Ron. Devin obliged.

"OW! What'd you do that for?!"

"You did ask for it," laughed Harry.

"No more'n four to a boat," Hagrid instructed. Harry, Ron, Devin, and Brooke loaded up in one boat, and Jeremiah and I got into a boat with Hermione and Neville.

"Did you ever find your toad?" asked Jeremiah. Neville gave a small sniff.

"No…"

"I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere." I encouraged him. "If he misses you like you miss him, he'll definitely find his way back to you." Neville gave a small smile and turned to look at Hagrid, who had a boat all to himself in the front.

"Everyone in?" he called. "Right then, FORWARD!" The fleet of boats all lurched forward by themselves and followed after Hagrid. Everyone was silent, they're attention focused on the castle looming nearer. We glided across the smooth lake, to the other side, into a large boathouse.

Jeremiah helped me out of the boat and we walked toward the exit, meeting up with the others. Hagrid did one last sweep of the boats and picked something up out of one of them.

"Is this anyone's toad?" he called, holding up the lumpy creature in his hand.

"Trevor!" Neville rushed forward with pure bliss written on his face. He grabbed the toad and held him affectionately against his body.

"I told you he would find you!" I grinned.

"He was a gift from my Uncle Algie," he said with pride. "I'd hate to lose him for good."

"Just make sure to keep him close form now on," scolded Hermione. Neville nodded and the group trailed after Hagrid up the castle. He led us through a pair of twin oak doors and ushered us into a hall. Only one person was present; a stern-faced witch with green robes and a pointed, black hat. She looked all business.

"Here's the firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here," she said. Hagrid walked out of the doors we had just come from and closed them behind him. Professor McGonagall opened another set of doors in front of us and led us into an entrance hall with a large staircase that led to the upper floors. It was lit by torches like, I assumed, the rest of the castle was. Professor McGonagall stopped us in front of another set doors and motioned for us to wait. On the other side, hundreds of voices could be heard. That must be where the other students were.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began. "Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now, while you are here, your house will be sort of like your family. You will have classes together, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points, and your triumphs will earn you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most remaining points will be awarded the house cup. The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily."

Professor McGonagall opened one of the doors behind her and slipped through it. She didn't open it wide enough for any of us to peak in. Small, worried murmurs broke out throughout the group as we waited anxiously. My own heart was pounding at an alarming rate and my stomach sunk.

"I'm so nervous," I said, turning to the others.

"It'll be fine," Brooke reassured me, placing my hand in hers. "No matter what we're sticking together." I was so glad she was here with me.

"Any idea how they sort us?" asked Devin.

"Some sort of test in front of the school, I think," replied Ron. "Fred said it was painful, but I think he was joking."

"You should know better than to trust what he says," said Jeremiah. "We should've asked Percy."

"But I haven't learned any magic yet," said a worried Harry.

"I wonder what spells I'll need," pondered Hermione, to no one in particular. Neville looked like he was about to throw up.

"So it's true then," said a sly voice. "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."

We looked up to see Draco Malfoy and two other large boys standing behind him. The students murmurs had grown to loud whispers at the mention of Harry's name and several were straining to look at him.

Malfoy made his way over to us and the two boys in tow were shoving people out of the way. Harry looked at him curiously while the rest of us tensed up. We hadn't forgotten his rude comments from the day before.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," he continued, nodding to the boys. "I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Ron snickered at his name and his head snapped over to him so fast I thought it would fall off his neck. I wouldn't have any complaints if it did.

"Think my names funny, do you?" he snarled. "No need to ask yours! Red hair, freckles, a hand-me-down robe, and more children than they can afford. You must be a Weasley." Ron had a look of embarrassment and anger etched on his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said interrupting him. He turned his attention towards me. "We don't exactly speak troll you know, but maybe dumb and dumber here can translate." Laughter roared throughout the room and Malfoy and his two goons fumed. His eyes widened as realization struck him.

"You're the girl who hit me in the shoulder!" he exclaimed. I started looking through my robes.

"Hold on, I'm sure I have a Band-Aid for your boo boo here somewhere."

Ron had tears streaming down his face and Malfoy turned quickly back to Harry.

"You'll soon find out that SOME wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He extended his hand to Harry, but Harry didn't shake it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," said Harry coldly.

"You need some ice for that burn?" questioned Brooke, feigning a smile. Malfoy just glared at her and stalked away angrily.

"I could've taken care of myself, you know," said Ron.

"Oh, quit being so prideful!" I snapped. "You'd do the same for me." Ron opened his mouth to say something and closed it.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"No problem," I smiled.

Before turning back to our discussion on the sorting, there were several screams that came from the back of the group. My brain nearly fell out of my butt because at least twenty ghosts had burst through the ceilings, walls, and the floors. Some of them rode horses, most of them were dressed in medieval clothes, and some of them didn't even have heads. All of them, however were pearly white and slightly see through.

"Honestly, he gives the rest of us ghosts a bad name," complained one of the ghosts to a short one dressed like a friar.

"Maybe we ought to give him a second chance," the friar said

"My dear, Friar, haven't' we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" said the first ghost.

"He's not even really a ghost. Oh, look! New students!" The ghost turned his attention towards us. He wore a tight ruff around his next like Shakespeare.

"Hope to see you all in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar happily. "That was my old house you know."

Professor McGonagall came through the doors, and shooed the ghosts away.

"Move along now," she said. The ghosts whizzed past her and through the wall of the room she just came from. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start, so form a line and follow me."

We formed a single file line and stood in from of the door. She opened both doors all the way and we followed her into a massive hall. Four long tables were lined up from one end and down the other with the rest of the students sitting at them. All eyes were on us. Above the tables were hundreds of floating candles that lit the room along with several hanging torches. The ceiling was absolutely breathtaking. It looked exactly like the sky. Stars twinkled through passing clouds and the moon shone brightly.

"It's bewitched to look like the night sky," I heard Hermione whisper behind me. "I read it in _Hogwarts: A History_."

Professor McGonagall led us up in front of a high table where the different teachers were sitting. A small stool was set in the center and on top of it was a pointy, battered hat. She motioned for us to stop and we came to a halt directly in front of the stool.

"Maybe we have to try and get a rabbit out of it," whispered Harry. I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing.

A rip in the hat opened up and it began to sing. What. The. Fudge.

 _"Oh, you may think I'm pretty_

 _But don't judge on what you see_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _Your top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

"So that's it," whispered Ron. "We just put on the hat. I'm going to kill Fred!" Brooke shushed him and the hat continued to sing

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindors apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

 _If you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folks use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't give a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a thinking cap!_

The whole hall burst into applause and the hat fell silent.

"But it's a hat," whispered a rather dumbfounded Devin. I don't think he listened to a word it said.

Professor McGonagall pulled out a long piece of parchment and held it out in front of her.

"When I call your name, please step forward and place the hat on your head," she said. I wish we didn't have to do this in front of everyone. I didn't do well in front of crowds and I was already nervous to begin with.

"Abbot, Hannah!" A girl with blonde pigtails stepped forward, sat on the stool, and put on the hat. It was large and covered her eyes completely.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" One of the tables erupted with cheers as she walked off to go sit with them.

"Boot, Terry."

"RAVENCLAW." Another table cheered as well and he went to go sit with them.

"Brown, Lavender."

"GRYFFINDOR!" Another table applauded loudly and I could hear Fred and George above all the rest.

"Bulstrode, Millicent."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Crabbe, Vincent."

"SLYTHERIN!"

It looked like it took him a minute before he registered what the hat said. He may have been big, but his brain certainly didn't match the size of his body.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I was growing more and more nervous by the minute as Professor McGonagall went down the line of names. While some of the students were immediately placed, others were not. Seamus had sat on the stool nearly a minute before being placed. I said I didn't mind what house I was put in, but after a run in with Malfoy, I really would rather not be placed in the same house as him. Well, even if I was placed in Slytherin, I guess I would just have to put on my big girl panties and suck it up.

"Goyle, Gregory."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Granger, Hermione." I looked up, curious on what house she would be put in. I'm still betting its Ravenclaw.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Oh, wow. That actually caught me off guard. Maybe it's not just based off of a person's qualities. Maybe the Sorting Hat had considered other things as well.

"Greengrass, Daphne."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Hammons, Kristin." My stomach sunk even further and Brooke, who had been holding my hand the whole time, gave it an encouraging squeeze. I took a deep breath, walked up the steps, and sat down on the stool. I faced the crowd and all eyes were on me. Wonderful. I felt my cheeks go pink. I could see the Weasley twins giving me two thumbs up and Percy was even watching me anxiously.

I twitched in the seat as the Sorting Hat's voice resounded inside of my head. I looked up to see if anyone else could hear it. They simply stared at me with anticipating eyes.

"Hm, where to put you…" it said. "You have all of the great qualities of a Hufflepuff, you would do well there. Kind, patient, and loyal, but also a streak of laziness and much insecurity. This is a difficult choice…." Its voice trailed off and I waited….and waited. I looked up at Professor McGonagall and she simply stared down at me. Then its voice began again.

"I think you have more potential than you give yourself credit for, I will put you in the house that will help to strengthen you and give you the confidence you need to tap into that potential….." I just wanted it to be over at this point.

"GRYFFINDOR!" My heart soared and I looked to Brooke with a large smile. I think she was cheering even louder than the Weasley's.

I hopped off the stool and walked over to sit with the cheering Gryffindors. Fred reached over Hermione to slap me on the back.

"Landers, Brooke," My head shot back up to the front of the hall, and I was suddenly nervous again.

Brooke sat on the stool and the hat was placed on her head. She looked over to me, with a worried look and I gave her a comforting smile, trying to hide my own nervousness. She sat there a minute before the hat finally gave its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!" I stood and screamed my exuberance and she rushed forward off the stool, straight for me, and gave me a hug.  
"I was so nervous!" she said, grinning ear to ear.

"Longbottom, Neville." Neville tripped going up the steps and sat down on the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!" He gave a visible sigh of relief and strode over to our table with more pride than I had seen in him, thus far. He sat down across from me and next to Seamus.

"I'm so glad we're in the same house!" I told him.

"Y-you are?" he stuttered.

"Of, course!" I said.

"I personally think we should start a Neville Longbottom Fan Club," suggested Brooke.

"I concur! We'll make t-shirts and everything." Neville's face flushed a deep red. He was so cute! You just felt like you needed to protect him.

"Malfoy, Draco."

I didn't even need look up to know what house he would be placed in. The hat had merely hovered over his head before it shouted out "SLYTHERIN!"

"Big surprise there," Brooke said sarcastically.

"My gran says that the Malfoys were one of the first ones to switch back over to our side when You-Know-Who was defeated," said Neville, "They claimed they'd been bewitched."

Brooke and I gave each other a worried look. No wonder the kid was a jerk.

"Nott, Theodore."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Parkinson, Pansy."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Patil, Padma."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Patil, Pavarti."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Pritchard, Jeremiah."

Brooke and I both craned our heads to watch Jeremiah get sorted. He confidently walked up and sat on the stool. Devin and Jeremiah were both alike in that aspect. Both of them thought rationally and could stay calm in situations where everyone else would be nervous.

"RAVENCLAW!"

We looked at each other and back at Jeremiah. He looked toward us, smiled proudly, and went over to sit with his fellow Ravenclaws.

"I hate we won't all be together," said Brooke sadly.

"True, but Jeremiah looked really happy with it. Plus, now that he's in the smart house we can force him to help us with our homework," I grinned.

"Oh my gosh! Yes! We'll be geniuses!"

"Potter, Harry." Whispers consumed the hall and a quiet fell over it as Harry sat down on the stool. As long as he sat on that stool, no one spoke, and no one breathed. Even the teachers were focused completely on him. Harry just looked like he wanted to disappear under that hat. He waited longer than anyone had before (a good five minutes) before the hat finally spoke.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table absolutely lost it with how loud our cheers were. Fred and George were both hollering "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry looked so incredibly relieved. I wondered what the hat had said to him.

He came over to us and Brooke gave him a high five as he sat across from her.

"Skipper, Devin."

All three of us focused our gaze back up the front of the hall, where Devin sat with hat on his head.

"SLYTHERIN!" My heart sunk. And we looked at each with worried glances, then back up to Devin. He made his way over to the cheering Slytherins and sat down across from Malfoy, who gave him a cold sneer. They wouldn't exactly be welcoming when they found out he was a muggle-born. I'm actually surprised he ended up in Slytherin though. Usually they rely on blood purity as a requirement, but after all of the years that Hogwarts has been open there was bound to be a few muggle-borns in Slytherin.

However, Devin's expression is what I noticed the most. He didn't look happy or sad, he looked indifferent. I honestly don't think he cared what house he was put in. He was so much more independent than the rest of us that he would've been perfectly fine with any house. But I think that was a good thing. After all, the only people that we had had a problem with in Slytherin were Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Brooke's words from the train suddenly rang back to me. _"There's bound to be Slytherins who are nice. They can't all be bad, right?"_ I began to notice my own hypocrisy. I had claimed that I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but here I was, doing the exact thing. Slytherin may have had the most dark witches and wizards, but not ALL of them were that way. Jeremiah had even said that Merlin was a Slytherin and look at all of the good things he did! I stilled myself. I was going to be happy for him, I was going to be strong for him, and I was going to try my best to friendly with the Slytherins.

I decided to voice my thoughts to the others.

"We can't look sad," I said. "Slytherin may have a bad reputation, but not everyone one of them is bad, like Jeremiah said. I think that's proof, now that Devin's been sorted there. Besides, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle are the only rude ones that we've met so far."

"I think your right," sighed Brooke. "I guess we've been pretty judgmental."

"Well, I think it's normal though, considering what we've learned about You-Know-Who," I said, whispering the last part. I looked to Harry, who was silent the whole time. He had been listening to Brooke and I intently. He finally let out a big sigh.

"In my mind, I know your right, but..." he let his sentence trail off.

"Your emotions are saying another thing," Brooke finished for him. He simply nodded.

"We don't blame you, Harry," I said. "If I was in your position, I'd feel the same way and Devin won't blame you either."

"Thanks." He gave a weak smile. This would be something Harry would have to work out on his own. It didn't matter if Devin was in Slytherin or not to him, he would still have some resentment to that house and Malfoy didn't exactly make his impression any better. All we could do was support him.

"Thomas, Dean."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Turpin, Lisa."

"RAVENCLAW."

"Weasley, Ron."

At the mention of Ron's name, our heads turned to look at him. I noticed Devin and Jeremiah were watching closely as well. Ron looked really pale under his freckles. I thought he might topple over any moment.

He nervously took his place on the stool and gripped the sides of it so tight that his knuckles were white. The Sorting Hat was placed on his head and gave an immediate answer.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron looked absolutely elated as he walked down to our table and took a seat next to Harry.

"I wasn't nervous at all," he claimed proudly. The rest of us laughed and Harry shook his head.

Well done, Ron!" said Percy smiling proudly and coming to sit next to his brother. Ron's ears simply turned red.

"Zabini, Blaise."

"SLYTHERIN!"

Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll of parchment and took the Sorting Hat and stool away. The man who had been sitting in the middle of the high table stood up and beamed at the students. He wore purple robes and had a long white beard and hair that was just as long. On his crooked nose, sat half-moon spectacles and behind them, his blue eyes twinkled with delight.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" he began. "For those of you who don't know, I am Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster. Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down and everyone clapped and cheered. Brooke and I were giggling to ourselves and Ron just looked confused.

"Is he….a bit mad?" Ron asked Percy.

"He's a genius!" Percy exclaimed. "Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad. Oh, look. The food's here."

I looked down in front of me where empty goblets and plates were sitting on the table previously. They were now filled to the brim with pumpkin juice and an array of food. Ron didn't hesitate to engorge himself. He was in his happy place.

I began grabbing everything I could get my hands on, wanting to try it all. I grabbed some potatoes, Shepard's pie, roasted chicken, English peas, and Yorkshire pudding.

"Don't gorge yourself too much," Percy warned. "There's still dessert after all."

"Are you for real?!" Brooke asked with her eyes lit up in delight.

"I think you had enough sweets on the train," Hermione reprimanded.

"You've been oddly silent this whole time," I said, taking a large bite out of some chicken. She gave me a disgusted look.

"I was paying attention to the Sorting Ceremony, as you should've been." It was like talking to my mother.

Several people gave a surprised shriek as the ghost with the ruffled collar popped up from the middle of the table.

"Don't do that!" yelled Brooke in shock.

"So, sorry," he apologized. "I do believe I haven't introduced myself. I'm Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. Resident ghost of Gryffindor house. You may call me Sir Nicholas"

"The houses have ghosts?" asked Dean, who was sitting next to Brooke.

"Oh, yes!" he said proudly. "Ravenclaw has the Grey Lady, Hufflepuff has the Fat Friar, and Slytherin has the Bloody Baron."

"I know you!" Ron blurted out. "Your Nearly-Headless Nick!" Sir Nicholas looked rather affronted by the nickname.

" _Nearly_ -Headless?" asked Seamus. "How can you be _Nearly_ -Headless?" Frustrated at having been asked an apparently insensitive question, Sir Nicholas grabbed his hair and pulled his head to the side.

"Like this!"

To everyone's horror his head was only held on by a small scrap of skin. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but failed terribly. My stomach turned.

"No more questions," Brooke said to Seamus. He looked like he had regretted asking, in the first place. Sir Nicholas merely flopped his head back in place and floated down the table to some older students.

"He takes offense to that name," said Percy. His must've seen Sir Nicholas do this more than once because he was still eating.

"Yeah, I think we got that much," I said.

After everyone had had their fill (I had stopped eating after Sir Nicholas's little show) the desserts appeared. There were mountains of ice cream and bowls full of chocolates and treacle tarts.

Brooke and I had gotten different deserts and were happily helping each other to the others plate while the others discussed their family heritage.

"I'm half and half," began Seamus. "Dad's a muggle, Mum's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out."

"My gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville. "The family all thought I was a squib for ages until my Uncle Algie accidently dropped me out of a window."

"How in Bob's name do you 'accidently' get dropped out of a window?" I interjected, rather appalled.

"Oh, well, he was holding me out of a window, you know to see if I had any magical abilities, and he got distracted when my Aunt Enid asked a question and accidently dropped me. I fell into the garden and bounced down the street."

Neville's uncle was starting to sound a lot like Harry's uncle and aunt.

"I'm half and half like Seamus," I said. "My mom's a pureblood and my dad's a muggle."

"Same," said Brooke. "Except my mom's not a pureblood."

"Sorry," interrupted Harry. "But what's a pureblood and a squib"

"A pureblood's someone who's never had a muggle in their family," Ron explained. "We're pureblood too."

"And a squib is the child of a witch and wizard, but has no magical ability. They're pretty rare, but do happen," added Percy. He leaned his head in closer and whispered. "Mr. Filch is one."

"The caretaker?" questioned Dean.

"That's the one," he replied.

"Personally, I'm interested in the classes," said Hermione. "I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration. It's supposed to be very difficult."

"I'm actually interested in that as well," said Brooke. "I'd like to register as an animagus one day."

"Let me guess," said Ron. "You want to be a cat?"

"There's nothing better!" she grinned.

"You'll be starting off small in the beginning. Matches to needles and that sort of thing," said Percy.

"Ouch!" cried Harry, slapping his hand to his forehead.

"You okay?" asked Ron.

"It's nothing," he replied. I followed Harry's gaze and he was looking at the high table.

"Percy, who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" Harry asked. I didn't know which one was Professor Quirrell, but I saw one of the teachers briefly glance at our table and then back to a man in a turban. He had greasy, black hair and a serious look on his face.

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? That's Professor Snape. Head of Slytherin house. He teaches potions, but everyone knows it's the Dark Arts he fancies. He's been after Quirrell's job for years," Percy answered. Harry didn't take his gaze off of the man until the food was cleared from the table.

Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again and addressed everyone.

"Just a few more words before you head off to your dormitories. I have a few start of term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students." Professor Dumbledore looked particularly at the Weasley Twins. So, they're reputation precedes them.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term and anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madame Hooch. Finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Um, what?

"And now, bedtime. Off you trot."

The older students sauntered out of the hall as the prefects gathered all of the first years together.

"Stay close," Percy called, leading us out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. "Pay attention, it's easy to get lost. If you do get lost, feel free to ask the portraits or ghosts. Just avoid asking Peeves, the poltergeist."

Percy led us up countless flights of stairs and we passed numerous portraits along the way. The walls were simply littered with them and some of their inhabitants followed us along the corridors. Percy came to a sudden halt and I looked past him to see an outrageously dressed man, floating in the air, carrying a large bundle of sticks.

"And here's Peeves now," Percy whispered to us. Peeves spotted us and grinned mischievously.

"Ickle Firsties! What fun!" he exclaimed. He gave a large raspberry and began pelting us with the sticks. I ducked as one hit me in the back of the head. I was going to try avoiding this annoyance as much as possible.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Bloody Baron will hear about this!" Percy said. Peeves cackled and dumped the rest of the sticks on top of Neville before swooping down the hall behind us.

"The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him," explained Percy. We followed him the rest of the way down the hall until we reached a portrait of a rather rotund woman.

"Password?" she asked.

"Caput Draconis," Percy answered. "You'll want to pay attention to the password. It changes at the start of every term."

The portrait swung open and revealed a hidden doorway into the common room. It was a larger room littered with the house colors of Gryffindor. There were several tables and seats scattered throughout and furniture surrounded a crackling fireplace. At the back of the room were two separate spiraling staircases.

"Gather around here everyone." Percy motioned us in a circle around him. "Welcome to the Gryffindor common room. Boys dormitories are upstairs and to the left; girls the same on your right. You'll find all of your belongings have already been brought up. Now, I suggest all of you get to bed. You'll have your first day of classes tomorrow. A schedule has been posted in each of your dormitories."

Percy walked upstairs to the boy's dormitory and left us to our own devices.

"We'll be heading up then, I guess," said Brooke. "Goodnight Ron, Harry."

Both boys said their goodnights and Brooke and I followed the other three girls upstairs and into a long hallway. The hallway had eight doors, four on the left and four on the right. We walked down the hall and entered a room that had _First Years_ written on a plaque, on the door.

Inside the room were five four-poster beds, with deep red curtains, placed against the circular wall. Each of our trunks were placed in front of our beds. Brooke's bed was nearest to the door on the left side, then mine, Hermione's, Lavender's, and Parvati's. Between Hermione and Lavender's bed, was a window that let the soft moonlight inside. Mr. Bobbles was snoozing away on the windowsill.

"I think I'm going to go take a bath before bed," I announced.

"I'll go with you," offered Brooke.

"I prefer to take mine in the morning," said Parvati. "It tends to wake me up more."

Brooke and I gathered our belongings and hauled off toward the bathroom.

"Oh, are you coming too, Hermione?" asked Brooke. I looked behind me and saw Hermione had an armful of clothes as well.

"Yes, if you don't mind," she said with a hint of uncertainty.

"Absolutely! The more the merrier!" replied Brooke. She beamed and walked with us to the bathroom.

It was a large room with several cubicles with toilets on the left side and about five curtained areas with claw foot bathtubs and showers on the right. The back of the room opened up to a circular area with several benches in the middle and sinks against the walls. In the very middle of the wall was a stained glass window of a phoenix. It began flying around and singing when we entered the room.

I set my clothes on one of the benches and took my toiletries with me to one of the curtained areas. I set my shampoo on the floor and filled the bath full of water. Some shelves sat above the tub, against the wall, and they already had soap and towels stacked on them.

While waiting for the tub to fill up, I walked over to one of the sinks and brushed my teeth. Hermione was next to me flossing and Brooke was filling her own tub up. Finishing up, I turned the water off and drew the curtain closed around me. I sank down into the tub and closed my eyes. The warm water felt so good against my tired limbs. I heard Hermione and Brooke get in next to me.

"I haven't had a bath in so long," I sighed.

"Oh, you mean you stink?" snickered Brooke.

"You know what I mean!" I laughed.

"It's quite relaxing, isn't it?" Hermione chimed in.

"I'm telling you now, Hermione, I'm a procrastinator so you're going to have to keep me in line," I said.

"Oh, I could make you a schedule!" she said.

"Hey, I want one too!" said Brooke.

"It's nice to have some girl time," I said.

"Yeah, we've been around the boys so long, I've forgotten what its like," said Brooke. "At least we don't have to worry about them barging in unannounced all the time."

"They don't even knock?" asked an appalled Hermione.

"Nope," answered Brooke.

"Well, you won't have to worry about it here. I read in _Hogwarts: A History_ that the stairs to the girl's dormitories have a charm placed on them to prevent boys from entering the girl's dormitories."

"Well, that's useful. Did it say what kind of charm?" I asked.

"The Sliding Charm, I believe. It turns the staircase into a slide," she explained.

"I need to learn that in case I'm ever late for class," laughed Brooke. "Especially with all of these stairs around. I could just slide there

"I know!" I laughed. "I didn't think we'd ever get here."

I heard Hermione sloshing around in the water next to me.

"Well, I think I'm done," she said. Reluctantly, I got up as well.

"Yeah, you're right. We need to go to bed," I said, drying off with one of the towels. I opened the curtain, gathered my clothes off the bench and followed Hermione out of the door to our room.

Parvati and Lavender were sitting up, talking when we walked in and Mr. Bobbles was now wide awake and staring longingly out of the window. I opened it up enough for him to fly out and closed it again. After putting my clothes away, I crawled in bed and savored the warm feeling of being enveloped in the blankets. We said our goodnights and went to sleep hearing the soft giggles of Parvati and Lavender.


	8. Year 1: The First Week

"What's our first class again?" asked Harry. Brooke looked at the class schedule next to her plate of waffles and bacon.

"Potions, with the Slytherins," she answered. Ron let out an exasperated sigh.

"Snape's supposed to favor those from his own house, I guess we'll see if it's true," he said.

"We'll just need to make sure we're extra attentive and stay on our toes," I said. I took a swig of my orange juice and looked at my own schedule next to me.

Today we would have Potions, History of Magic, Charms, and Defense against the Dark Arts. Potions was only held twice a week, with Double Potions every Friday morning. Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws, Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic were all three times a week. Astronomy was every Wednesday at midnight and Flying Lessons were every Thursday afternoon with the Slytherins.

"I'm glad we'll have some classes with Devin and Jeremiah, at the least," said Ron. "Even if some of them are with Slytherin."

"Speaking of Devin, I'm eager to see how he's doing with the Slytherins. He would've had to room with Malfoy and his little gang hoodlums," said Brooke.

"I guess we'll find out in a minute," Harry said looking at his watch. "It's almost 9:30. We've got to be in class at 9:45."

"Any idea where it's at?" asked Ron. Brooke looked at her schedule again.

"Looks like it's down in the dungeon somewhere," she answered.

"Well, that's depressing," I said.

"The Slytherin's should feel right at home then-OW!" Brooke had kicked Ron from under the table.

"Be nice!" she reprimanded. Harry and I let out a snort as he rubbed his leg and mumbled under his breathe.

I stood up and picked up my cauldron filled with potions ingredients and textbook.

"Shall we get going then?" I asked.

"But I'm not done yet!" Ron complained. I loved eating as much as the next person, but dear Bob, Ron was a straight up piglet.

"You act like you're never going to have another meal," laughed Harry.

"I may not after having this class!" Ron grabbed his supplies, and a piece of toast, and followed behind us.

The dungeon was much colder than the rest of the castle and was only lit by the torches along the walls. The Potions classroom, didn't fare much better, either. There were jars of pickled animals along the walls and a mixture of smells from the potions ingredients. The tables, that could seat at least eight people, were stained and scorched from years of brewing. In the front of the room was a large blackboard and to the right was a closed door. It probably led to the supply closet.

Walking into the classroom there weren't too many students yet, we had arrived early. Hermione was already there pouring over her potions book and organizing her ingredients. I set my things down on one of the front tables, along with Brooke, Harry and Ron.

A few more people walked in, including Devin, and he sat down next to Brooke, on the end of the table.

"Morning!" I said, turning to him.

"Morning," he said, with a tired expression

"So, Devin," began Brooke. "How'd it go?"

"I'm rooming with Malfoy. How do you think it went?" he asked.

"That bad, huh?" asked Ron

"Yeah, especially since they found out I'm muggle-born and then spread it through the whole common room. Most of them won't speak to me, which really isn't a bad thing when you think about it, and Malfoy tried to bow up at me."

"Are you serious?" I laughed.

Devin wasn't a very big guy, but he had begun gaining some muscle over the course of the summer and was a little smaller than Crabbe and Goyle. He was certainly bigger than Malfoy, though. He'd told us that he'd been bullied a lot throughout school and had begun working out in order to defend himself. He said that bullies only answered to one thing and he tended to use his fists rather than his words. After being in a few fights, to his mother's disdain, nobody really messed with him anymore. They knew he wasn't a pushover.

"What happened?" inquired Harry.

"Prefect came over before anything got good," he said. "Malfoy wouldn't have hit me anyway, he's just a coward. He prefers for Crabbe and Goyle to do his dirty work for him."

"You're welcome in our common room anytime, mate," offered Ron. "I'd hate for you to have to be with THEM all of the time."

"I'll definitely take you up on that offer,"

The classroom was quite full now, and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken up residence at our table for some reason. I know I'd been determined to be friendly with the Slytherin's, but they weren't exactly making it a picnic.

The door burst open with a loud bang and Professor Snape walked to the front of the room. He quickly took roll, paused at Harry's name, and sneered at him.

"Harry Potter. Our new Celebrity."

The three amigos sniggered softly next to Harry. I don't think I was going to like Professor Snape very much.

"There will be little foolish wand waving and no silly incantations in this class," he began. "You are here to learn the subtle and exact science and art that is potion-making. Many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I hardly expect any of you will really understand the beauty of a softly, simmering cauldron and the delicate power of liquids coursing through human veins. I can teach you how to bewitch the mind, ensnare the sense, and stopper death. If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach, that is."

Well, he was just a peach, wasn't he? He reminded me of what it was like to eat one of those really sour Warheads, except you couldn't spit it out after you'd had enough of it.

"Potter!"

Harry nearly jumped ten feet in the air.

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

How in Bob's name was he supposed to know that? I saw Hermione's hand shoot up in the corner of my eye.

"I don't know, sir" replied Harry. The side of Snape's mouth curled into a sneer. He was humiliating him on purpose! He ignored Hermione's hand and continued on.

"Well, let's try again. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione's hand skyrocketed again and Harry just looked like he wanted to crawl under his desk. Malfoy and his gang were practically rolling with laughter as quietly as they could.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said.

"Clearly, fame isn't everything, is it Potter?" Harry just stared at him with pure malice. "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Hermione practically launched herself out of her chair.

"I don't know, but clearly Hermione does. Seems a pity not to ask her." Snape looked furious and there were several giggles throughout the room.

"Quiet!" he said threateningly to us. He grabbed a stool and sat it down directly in front of Harry, looking him in the eyes.

"Put your hand down you silly girl," he snapped at Hermione. "For you information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of the Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying this down?"

Everyone scrambled for a quill and paper and tried to remember what Snape said. He said it so fast and quietly that I wasn't even sure everyone had heard him.

He walked behind his desk and began jotting something down in a notebook.

"And Gryffindor's note that a point will be taken from your house for your classmate's cheek," Snape said as a final note. There was a collective groan from most of the Gryffindors.

"Now, pair up with each other. I expect you to make a cure for boils, by the end of the lesson. The instructions are on the board." Snape flicked his wand at the board and the instructions for the potion appeared.

Brooke and I paired off and began searching through our supplies for the correct ingredients.

"I'll crush the snake fangs, if you want to set up everything else," she said.

Brooke put six snake fangs in the mortar and began crushing them up while I set up the cauldron and gathered the remaining ingredients of horned slugs and porcupine quills. Ron and Harry were working together next to us and Devin was working with Hermione. Lucky. I bet theirs turned out perfect.

"Snake fangs are crushed. What next?" asked Brooke.

"'Add four measures of the crushed fangs to your cauldron and heat at 250 degrees for 10 seconds,'" I got a measuring spoon and Brooke got the cauldron heated up properly. I scooped the excess off the top of my spoon with my finger and poured the fangs into the cauldron. We waited ten seconds and Brooke waved her wand over the cauldron as per the instructions. Every potion needed a dose of magic or it wouldn't work properly.

Now we had to wait for 33-45 minutes before we added the horned slugs. Professor Snape walked around the classroom critiquing everyone's potions, except for Malfoy. He seemed to really favor him, for some reason, and Malfoy was taking full advantage of it. He praised him more than the other Slytherin's.

Once the time was up, Brooke removed the cauldron from the fire before she dropped in the two porcupine quills. I stirred the potion five times before I waved my wand once more over it. It was supposed to be fuming pink when brewed correctly, but ours was fuming a deep red. Snape walked over to us and inspected our potion. I didn't even make eye contact.

"You've not crushed the snake fangs properly, the potions much too thick. Who crushed the fangs?" he asked. Brooke meekly raised her hand, but before he could say anything, his attention was taken away by the sudden shrieks behind us.

"Idiot boy!" he yelled, walking to the back of the room. Brooke gave a sigh of relief.

Neville had melted Seamus's cauldron and his potion spilled all of the floor and on him. He was covered in boils, with some beginning to form on his face.

"I suppose you added the porcupine quills before removing it from the fire?!"

Neville simply cowered in fear.

"Finnigan, take him to the hospital wing!" Snape spat. He waved his wand to clean up the mess and was even shorter with everyone the remainder of the class. Luckily, he had forgotten about Brooke and we eventually made it out of there alive. We parted ways with Devin outside the classroom and continued to our next class.

"You were right about Snape favoring the Slytherin's," I said.

"Did you see the way he was fawning over Malfoy!? Makes me sick!" complained Brooke.

"I just feel bad I got a point taken away from Gryffindor," sighed Harry.

"Don't worry about," said Ron. "Snape's always taking points from Fred and George."

"It really seemed like he had it out for you, Harry," said Brooke.

"Seriously! The only one in our class that even knew any of that stuff was Hermione and she's practically memorized the whole book," I added.

"Maybe our next class won't be as bad," said Harry trying to be positive.

We entered the History of Magic classroom and sat in individual desks. The most exciting part of the lesson was when Professor Binns, who turned out to be a ghost, floated through the blackboard. The excitement quickly fizzled out as we sat and took notes for the rest of the hour on the duel of Emeric the Evil and Egbert the Egregious.

Lunch was after History of Magic and then we headed to Charms. It was the subject I was most looking forward too. There was a charm for practically anything and they were all equally useful. There were charms for cleaning and cooking like Mrs. Weasley used, and then there were charms like the Undetectable Extension Charm on our trunks and Mr. Weasley's car.

Charms was taught by Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw. He was a very short man and had to stand on a stack of books for all of us to see him. I took out my quill and parchment as he began his lesson.

"The first, and simplest, charms you will learn are the Wand-Lighting Charm and Wand-Extinguishing Charm. The names of the spells are pretty self-explanatory. One charm is used to illuminate the tip of your wand and the other is used to put it out. The charm was invented in the 18th Century and was first publicly used by Levina Monkstanley, much to her colleagues' astonishment, when she used it to find a quill in a dark corner. It is not only used a handy source of light, but also a repellent for Gytrashes and malevolent spirits.

"Can it be used on Peeves?" asked Dean. A roar of laughter was heard around the class and even from professor Flitwick.

"Unfortunately, no." he explained. "Peeves is a Poltergeist, not a ghost. While poltergeists are susceptible to jinxes and hexes, once they've decided to take up residence, it's impossible to expel them. Now, there are no special movements for these spells. You will simply hold up your wand and say _Lumos_. To extinguish the light you will say _Nox_."

Professor Flitwick turned off the lights in the room and shut the curtains of the windows, allowing us to see how effectively we could use the spell.

I held up my wand and said, " _Lumos_." The tip of my wand glimmered with a warm, white light and lit up the area around me.

"Excellent, Mrs. Hammons! Mrs. Granger!" exclaimed Flitwick. I smiled with pride and saw that Hermione and I were the only ones who got it on the first try. Others were glowing faintly, like Harry's, and some were glowing scarlet, like Ron and Brooke's.

"If the light on your wand is only faintly shining put more of an 'oomph' in it and if its shining scarlet you've put too much of an 'oomph,'" explained Flitwick. "Those of you who have gotten the hang of it please begin practicing the Wand-Extinguishing Charm."

I held up my wand once more and said, _"Nox."_ The light flicked off like a light switch and the area around me darkened.

"I'm just gonna pat myself on the back now," I bragged. I got a unified, "shut up" from Harry, Brooke, and Ron. I needed this boost of confidence after Snape's class this morning. He just left a bad taste in my mouth.

The rest of the class was spent perfecting the charm until everyone had gotten it down pat. Even Neville, who had returned boil-free from the hospital wing, had gotten it perfect.

The next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell. We had taken to calling him Professor Squirrel because of how jumpy and twitchy he was all the time. It was like he was waiting for someone to jump out and say "BOO!"

The first lesson consisted of learning how to create red and green sparks from our wands. The purpose was to use theses sparks as different signals for communication. You could communicate long distances or use them as a sign of distress.

The rest of the day went as normally as expected and the next day consisted of two new classes: Herbology and Transfiguration.

Herbology was taught in the greenhouses by Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff. She was a portly, old which with patched clothing and always wore a smile on her face. The first lesson was spent teaching us the Fire-Making Spell ( _Incendio)_. Apparently it could help keep at bay, and even destroy, many dangerous plants. She did urge us, however, to not use it on the plants in the greenhouses. Many of them were difficult to cultivate and were used in potion-making. She explained that some of the rarer plants were even used by the Ministry of Magic.

"Think I could set fire to Malfoy's robes with this?" questioned Ron.

"And you could also set fire to our house points," replied Harry. Brooke and I laughed as we walked into the Transfiguration classroom and saw a familiar face.

"Jeremiah!" I waved to him across the room. I had totally forgotten Transfiguration was with the Ravenclaws.

"Long time no see!" Brooke said bounding over to him.

"We just saw each other the other day, dummy," he said smiling. Ah, how I've longed for his insults.

"What's it like being in the smart house?" I asked.

"You WOULD only focus on that one point," he said shaking his head. "But it's great, although our common room can be difficult to get into sometimes."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry. "We just have a password."

"We have to answer a riddle and if you get it wrong you just have to wait for someone else to solve it before you can go in."

"That's got to be annoying," stated Ron.

"Yeah," Jeremiah nodded to two boys talking next to him. "Anthony, Terry, and I were all stuck outside last night until Padma came and solved it."

"I'd have to go ahead and just set up a tent outside," laughed Brooke.

"You could even have a little campfire!" I added.

"We could make s'mores!"

"We need to make s'mores in the common room fireplace!"

"All in favor of making s'mores raise your hands!" Everyone raised their hands except for Ron.

"Ron, why aren't you raising your hand?" asked Jeremiah.

"Because I don't know what a s'more is," he stated.

"It's a life changing experience," I said grabbing his hand and putting it in the air. "It's settled then. We're going to get together and have s'mores. Jeremiah, we're owling our parents today for food."

"You might want to go ahead and add sweet tea for Devin too," said Jeremiah. "I think he's been having withdrawals. I saw him glaring at his pumpkin juice at dinner last night."

"We'd better take our seats, class is about to start," said Harry.

"Look at you being all responsible and what not," I chuckled.

"Shut up," he grinned.

I took the seat next to Jeremiah and the others sat next to me. The door to the classroom opened up and in walked….a cat?

"Tell me y'all are seeing this too," I said, as the cat hopped on top of the desk. They slowly nodded in disbelief and Brooke nearly tipped her desk over rushing to the front of the classroom.

"Kitty!" she yelled excitedly. She scooped up the cat in her arms and snuggled it profusely. It struggled to get away from her, but she was holding it too tightly.

"Brooke, maybe you shouldn't do that," Harry cautioned. "What if it's Professor McGonagall's pet or something?" She looked at Harry and pouted.

"But she's so cute!"

"Hey, doesn't that cat look a little strange?" asked Jeremiah. I looked at the cat closely and noticed it had little markings around its eyes that looked like a pair of glasses.

"Brooke, let go of the cat!" Jeremiah said in a panicked tone, but it was too late. To everyone's astonishment that cat had transformed into Professor McGonagall. Jeremiah had figured it out. She was an animagus.

Brooke, who had paid no attention to Jeremiah's warning, was now rubbing her face lovingly against Professor McGonagall. She looked like she wanted to transfigure her into a bug and squish her.

"I wish I had a camera," whispered Harry. This was priceless. No one dared laugh, but everyone strained to hold it in.

"Are you quite done, Mrs. Landers?!" Professor McGonagall said sharply. Brooke finally looked up and gazed into McGonagall's eyes with a look of horror on her face. I wasn't ever going to let her forget this.

Brooke stepped away from her and stuttered through a mixture of an apology and how she just couldn't help herself because she made such a cute cat.

"Take. Your. Seat." McGonagall seethed. Brooke hurried to her seat and didn't say another word the entire lesson, which consisted of transforming matches to needles. Surprisingly, Brooke's performance had impressed Professor McGonagall who said she had a natural knack for Transfiguration. She and Hermione were the only ones who came close to transfiguring their matches all the way. I think Brooke made up for the cuddling incident somewhat. Transfiguration was very difficult magic and Brooke having a natural ability for it was quite impressive.

Continuing through the week's lessons, I found that I was absolutely terrible at Astronomy. I could retain the information about the planets just fine, but if you asked me to chart their movements, I was lost. For some reason, it just didn't click with me. I would definitely need Hermione's help for future homework or tests.

Flying lessons were only a class that would be held the first term. Most children that grew up in wizarding families already knew the very basics of flying, and those that hadn't learned or came from muggle families could pick it up pretty quick. It wasn't necessary to spend an entire year learning how to fly.

"So instead of our regular break in the afternoons, we'll have Flying Lessons," I said looking at our schedule.

"It'll be a breeze," said Ron. "Weather's perfect today and it's not too windy. Great conditions for flying" Harry poked his breakfast in a dejected manner.

"What's up, Harry?" asked Brooke.

"We have flying with the Slytherin's today. It's just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick, in front of Malfoy," he voiced.

"Don't be so negative!" I scolded. "You're not going to make a fool of yourself. It's easy to ride a broom. It's easier than riding a bike and I should know because I have no idea how to ride a bike."

Harry and Brooke snorted and Ron continued in my effort to encourage him.

"You're not going to be the only who hasn't rode a broom. Over the summer we played a small game of Quidditch and it was Devin's first time to ride a broom and he did great. He was a little shaky, but he got used to it and was able to do small maneuvers."

"Besides, Malfoy's been telling anyone who will listen that he's narrowly escaped passing helicopters. You'd have to be an expert to even go that high," said Brooke. "He's all talk."

"Look, mail's here!" said Ron. Looking up dozens of owls were flying in through the small windows in the ceiling of the Great Hall. They dropped packages, and sometimes droppings, onto the tables of their respective owners. I wouldn't' be expecting Mr. Bobbles for probably another week. Jeremiah and I had gone to the Owlery, like we had discussed, and sent both of our owls home with a list of groceries. I wondered if they would even be able to carry it all.

"Hey, Neville's got a Remembrall!" said Dean. Neville had opened up a small package from his grandmother and pulled out a clear ball, about the size of a marble, filled with white smoke.

"I've read about those," said Hermione, with a sparkle in her eye. "If the smoke turns red it means you've forgotten something."

"The smoke would never be white for me," I laughed.

"Looks like it's not clear for Neville either," said Seamus. The ball had filled with red smoke.

"The only problem is, I can't remember what I've forgotten," said Neville.

"Hey, there's been a break in at Gringotts!" Ron exclaimed, holding up the front page of this morning's _Daily Prophet_ he had just received. In large print was a headline that read **_Gringotts Break-In Latest_**.

"I thought it was supposed to be impossible to break into," said Hermione.

"It is!" continued Ron, "Listen: 'Believed to be the work of dark witches and wizards unknown, Gringott's goblins insist nothing was taken. The vault in question, number 713, was in fact emptied that very same day."

"That's the vault Hagrid and I went to!" said Harry in shock.

"Did you see what was in it?" asked Brooke.

"Kind of. It was a small, grubby looking package. It didn't look very important to me."

"Curiouser, and curiouser…" I said.

The package may have in fact been small, but for someone to go through the trouble of breaking into Gringotts, it had to be extremely valuable. They had to be an extremely powerful wizard or witch to not only break in, but get away successfully.

That afternoon we joined the Slytherins in the Training Grounds, near the greenhouses. The grass was green and there were several stone ruins scattered about. Twenty brooms were lined up, ten on each side, in the grass.

"I'm glad we played Quidditch this summer," said Devin, standing opposite Ron with the Slytherins.

"Like we told Harry this morning, a lot of kids haven't even flown before, so there's nothing to worry about," I said.

"Oh, I'm not worried. I was just saying, I'm glad that we played Quidditch this summer."

Ron, Brooke, and Harry fell out laughing, at the look on my face. Here I was trying to be comforting and this nitwit wants to be the new King of Sarcasm!

"I hope you fall off your broom!" I spat.

"Great comeback. A-plus," he said clapping his hands. UGH! He was just so irritating!

"Shut up!" I snapped at the others, who were nearly on the ground laughing.

Madame Hooch, a witch with short, grey hair, approached the class and adjusted the gloves on her hands.

"Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, what are you waiting for you? Everyone step up to the left side of your broomstick, stick your right hand over your broom, and say 'up.'"

"Up!" shouted everyone. My broom simply twitched, but continued to lay on the ground. Harry and Devin's brooms, however, shot up into their hands immediately, but they were some of the only few that did.

You didn't have to say "up" to even have to use the brooms at all. It was more of a gauge on the brooms responsiveness to your magical abilities. It was also a way for Madame Hooch to see who would need more practice. I was fairly decent on a broom, but I was by no means and expert. I preferred walking, rather than riding a broom anyways. It was a fast way to get around, but it wasn't the best for long distance travel. You had to fly low enough where the lack of oxygen didn't bother you, but high enough where muggles couldn't see you. It seemed too much of a hassle for me.

It took a few tries, but my broom hovered into my hand. Ron's broom had smacked him right in the face, to everyone's delight.

"Now mount your brooms like this so you don't go sliding off the ends," she said demonstrating the correct mount. You had to sit between the middle and the bristles. Sitting directly in the middle, you were too close to the front and you would have a hard time leaning properly to steer. Too far back and you would, indeed, fall off the end.

"When gripping your broom, place your dominate hand in front. This will be the hand you will use, along with your body, to steer. Mr. Malfoy fix that grip, your hands are much too far apart."

We sniggered and Malfoy glared furiously at us.

"Been avoiding helicopters with that grip, have you Malfoy?" whispered Ron. If looks could kill, Ron would be dead twice over, but it just made it all the funnier.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you'll kick off from the ground, hard," said Madame Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, then come straight down by leaning forward slightly. Three, two,-MR. LONGBOTTOM!"

Neville, out of nervousness, had kicked off from the ground before she had blown the whistle and shot up like a rocket. He had to have been twenty feet in the air. His face was as pale as Nearly-Headless Nick's and, in a panic, he slipped and fell to the ground with a thud and a loud crack.

The class rushed over and Madame Hooch had to shove a few people out of the way to get to him.

"Is he okay?" asked a worried Lavender.

Madame Hooch set him up carefully to examine him.

"Ow, ow, ow," he complained, clutching he arm to his chest.

"Poor boy, looks like a broken wrist," said Madame Hooch. "I'll take you to the hospital wing. Madame Pomphrey will fix you up in a jiffy." She stood Neville to his feet and turned to address the class.

"None of you is to move while I'm gone! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts faster than you can say 'Quidditch!' Come on, dear."

She escorted Neville away from us, and back to the castle. When they were far enough away Malfoy laughed loudly.

"Did you see the fat lump's face?!" The other Slytherins burst out in laughter. Brooke and I had to grab Devin to prevent him from giving Malfoy a well-deserved punch. No doubt it would improve his looks, but Malfoy just wasn't worth him getting in trouble.

"We'll pretend we didn't see anything, but do you really think the other Slytherin's will?" I hissed quietly. He stopped struggling.

"No, but it'd certainly make me feel better," said Devin.

"It'd make everyone feel better," said Brooke.

"Shut up, Malfoy!" we heard Parvati spit.

"Oh, sticking up for Longbottom?" cackled Pansy Parkinson, with the other Slytherin girls joining in. "Never thought you'd like fat little cry-babies, Parvati."

"You should really stop referring to yourself in third person, Pumpernickel," said Brooke, stepping in front of Parvati.

"It's PANSY!" she shrieked.

"Yeah, I'd say you are," replied Brooke. The Gryffindors and Devin roared with laughter and Pansy looked like she wanted to strangle Brooke.

"Look, it's that stupid thing Longbottom's grandmother sent him," Malfoy had darted forward and snatched the fallen Remembrall off the ground. He held it up for the other Slytherins to see.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about the roof?"

"Give it here, Malfoy!" yelled Harry, attempting to snatch it back from him. Malfoy dodged out of the way, mounted his broom, and hovered above our heads.

"You want it Potter? Then come get it!" Harry grabbed his broom, but Hermione grabbed a hold of his arm.

"You can't! You heard what Madame Hooch said! You'll be expelled!" she pleaded. Harry looked like he couldn't give diddly-squat what Madame Hooch said, at the moment. He snatched his arm away from Hermione and flew in there air like he'd done it a million times.

"What. An. Idiot." sighed Hermione.

"Hermione, I know you want to keep Harry out of trouble, but sometimes the rules prevent us from doing the right thing," I said. Wow, that actually sounded intelligent. Bravo, me.

Hermione gave me a sharp look, but she didn't disagree.

"Give it here, or I'll knock you off that broom!" threatened Harry. "There's no Crabbe or Goyle to protect you up here." Malfoy's face gave way to a worried look and then he changed it back to its regular sneer.

"Have it your way then," he said throwing the ball as far as he could. I couldn't even see it. Harry took a sudden dive toward the ground and Parvati and Lavender screamed.

"He's falling!" screamed one.

"No, look!" said Ron happily.

Harry reached out his hand, clutched something, and straightened his broom. He held the small Remembrall up in the air, in victory. We cheered and ran towards him as he landed.

"That was wicked, Harry!" Dean slapped Harry on the back.

"You sure you've never flown before?" I laughed.

"HARRY POTTER!" Everyone froze as Professor McGonagall marched over to us. "I never…how DARE you…might've broken your neck….!

"But Professor-"

"I don't want to hear it Mr. Weasley! Potter Come with me!" Harry looked at us with pleading eyes and grudgingly followed after McGonagall.

There was no living with Malfoy for the rest of that lesson after Harry's exit. He bragged to the Slytherin's about how he got the famous Harry Potter expelled. I was determined to learn a hex or two from Fred and George to use against him. I didn't think I could despise anyone this much. He was nothing but a spoiled, rich brat!

That night at dinner, and after Harry returned Neville's Remembrall, he informed us of what happened.

"You're joking," said Ron in disbelief. "Seeker? But First years never make the house team. You must be the youngest seeker in-"

"-a century." Harry finished excitedly. "At least, that's what Wood told me."

"That's great, Harry!" I said clapping my hands together. "Brookie Cookie we'll need to make t-shirts!"

"I agree!" she said. "Harry, would you prefer 'Manslaughter Potter' or 'Harry Potter will blow them out the water'" Harry laughed and thought for a second.

"Manslaughter Potter," he decided. Brooke wrote it down on a piece of parchment.

"We'll get Fred and George to help us make t-shirts along with our Neville Longbottom Fan Club," I said.

"You're NOT still going on about that are you?" asked Ron.

"Well, of course," Brooke said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What's that going to be? 'Longbottom Forgot 'em?'" sniggered Ron. Brooke kicked him from under the table.

"What is your problem?!"

"Your idiocy!" she snapped.

"Anyway," began Harry. "Wood said to keep it a secret for now. I start training next week. I won't have to take Flying anymore either."

"I imagine not, being on the Quidditch team and all," said Ron.

"I can't wait to see the look on Malfoy's face," I cackled. "Oh, Brooke right this down too! We'll get a camera and take a picture of his face and put it on the t-shirts!"

"I'm training you so well," she sniffed.

Fred and George, who just came in the hall, sat down next to us at the table.

"Well done, Harry!" whispered George. "Wood's just told us. We're on the team too as Beaters."

"Our job, is to make sure you don't get bloodied up to bad," said Fred. Harry didn't seem to care. He was on cloud nine at the moment.

"We're going to win that Quidditch Cup this year!" said George. "We haven't won since Charlie left. Slytherin's crushed us every year. You must be really good, though. Wood was practically skipping with he told us."

"Before you two go off, Brooke and I need your help with something," I said. We explained to them our little promotion plan for Harry's Quidditch debut.

"That's brilliant, but only if we get a percentage of the prophets," said Fred.

"Well, we weren't exactly going to sell them. We were just going to give them away," said Brooke.

"Rubbish," said George. "We're business-minded. We won't offer our services for free."

"Besides. We have a camera you could borrow," smiled Fred mischievously. Dang it! They knew how to negotiate.

"Fine," I said. "Since you're so 'business-minded' you won't mind helping us promote them to the older students then?"

"We want 50% of the prophets."

"40% and we'll get Devin and Jeremiah to promote them to the other houses." Fred and George huddled together in whispers for a moment, before turning back to us.

"Deal. We'll set prices at a later date. Nice doing business with you." We shook hands with each of them and they walked down to the end of the table to sit with Lee Jordan.

"I've never seen anyone successfully haggle with Fred and George before," said Ron with an agape mouth.

"You just have to know how to handle them, right, Brookie?"

"Right!" she said happily.

"Great. Malfoy's coming over," said Harry, nodding in their direction.

"Coming to gloat I suppose," said Ron. Malfoy and the girl scouts walked up behind Brooke and I, who were opposite Harry and Ron.

"Having your last meal Potter? When are you getting the train back to the muggles?" Crabbe and Goyle snickered like he'd said the funniest thing in the world.

"About the time you get on the train and back to the hole you crawled out of," I replied.

"I'll bury you in that hole if you don't watch your tone."

"No, you won't. You'll get Tweedledee and Tweedledum, here, to do it for you."

"You've got a smart mouth, don't you?"

"Why thank you! It graduated top of its class, you know." Brook, Harry, and Ron were laughing loudly.

"You're a lot braver now that you've got those two behind you, Malfoy," said Harry.

"I'll take you on anytime on my own," defended Malfoy. "How's tonight? Wizard's duel. Wands only and no contact."

Harry looked confused, but whatever it was, he was in. I'm sure he was itching to shut Malfoy up.

"You DO know what a duel is, don't you, Potter?"

"Of course he does!" snapped Ron. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle as if he was sizing them up. Crabbe was shorter than Goyle, but both of them were a good size. It looked like they'd eaten one too many Pumpkin Pasties, though.

"Crabbe," he decided. "Midnight alright? We'll meet you in the trophy room. It's always unlocked." All three of them walked back over to the Slytherin table.

"What's a wizard's duel? And what's a second? I'd like to know if I'm going to be in one," Harry inquired.

"Well," began Brooke, "in a proper wizard's duel you'd fight until one of you is no longer capable. What I mean is, you'd either be stunned, disarmed, or, in the worst case, killed. If you're killed your second takes over for you." Harry looked suddenly worried.

"Don't worry though!" I said. "Neither of you know enough magic to even do any damage."

"The most you'll do is send sparks at each other," said Ron.

"What if I wave my wand and nothing happens?" asked Harry.

"Punch him in the face," I said.

"Didn't he say 'no contact'?"

"You really think Malfoy would fight honorably?" said Brooke.

"Definitely not," he answered.

"Then, it's settled, we'll meet you in the common room at 11:30," I said.

"What makes you think you're invited?" scoffed Ron. "I'm his second, not you two."

"We're inviting ourselves!" snapped Brooke. "And besides, we can get a good picture of Malfoy to put on our t-shirts."

"We're not letting you two have all the fun," I said. "I want to see Harry wipe that smirk off Malfoy's face."

"Suit yourselves," said Ron. "Just don't expect me to save your skins." I stood up in a rage and jabbed my finger in his chest from across the table.

"I don't NEED you to save me, you blockhead buffoon! I'm perfectly capable of defending myself!" I stormed off in a huff toward the common room, and Brooke hurried behind me.


	9. Year 1: The Forbidden Corridor

I barged into the common room and angrily kicked the chair that Neville was seated in, causing him to squeak in surprise.

"Who does he think he is?!" I shouted. "That stupid, big-headed..." I was at a loss for words.

"Poohead?" suggested Brooke.

"Poohead!" I yelled. "He thinks that I need saving? Who was the one that cut him loose from that tree Fred and George tied him too?" I whirled around and looked at Brooke.

"You?"

"ME!" I sat down on the couch and folded my arms. Brooke sighed and sat next to me.

"Ron's an insensitive idiot, you know that. He speaks, well before he thinks," she said, trying to comfort me.

I gave a loud, exasperated sigh and flopped my head against the back of the couch.

"Yeah, but he treats me like I'm some weak little girl,"

"Well, look at it this way." I leaned my head up to look at Brooke. "Ron and his brothers are protective of Ginny, right? You saw how Fred and George didn't want her to play Quidditch. Well, Ron thinks of you as his sister, so wouldn't he just be trying to protect you in his own right? He'd never forgive himself if you got hurt in that duel tonight."

"I hate it when you make sense."

"Yes, but it does make sense."

"So, you think I should apologize?"

"Yes and no. Ron, even though he was trying to protect you, shouldn't have done it that way, but you also shouldn't have just walked off. It's called 'growing up', my child."

"You're wise beyond your years, Brookie Cookie."

I turned my head when I heard the portrait hole open and saw Harry and Ron walk in. They both walked over and sat down beside us. I guess I had better apologize to him. Sometimes I hate being the bigger person.

"Ron," he turned his head toward me. "I'm sorry I got mad at you. I shouldn't have gotten so upset and walked off."

He had a look of surprise on his face at my sudden apology.

"Oh…um…thanks….no problem," he said awkwardly.

"And don't you have something to say back?" prodded Brooke. Ron shot her a look saying "why should I?" She countered, by narrowing her eyes at as if to say "because I said so." I think she's spent too much time with Mrs. Weasley. Their non-verbal debate continued until Ron finally broke eye contact. He looked at the floor in submission and then back at me.

"Sorry," he mumbled. For Ron, that was as good as it was going to get and I was satisfied. He was as stubborn as a mule, and didn't like apologizing or admitting he was wrong, if he could help it.

"So, what's the plan for tonight?" asked Harry. I could tell he was changing the subject. He didn't like being in awkward situations.

"What do you mean? I thought we were meeting here at 11:30 and then going to the trophy room," said Brooke.

"I mean, how are we going to avoid Filch and Mrs. Norris?"

"Luck?" I suggested, shrugging my shoulders.

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but overhear." Hermione was standing behind us looking rather cross.

"Bet you could," muttered Ron. She ignored him and continued without skipping beat.

"You mustn't go wandering around the school at night! You'll get points taken away from Gryffindor. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," Harry shot back.

"Fine!" she huffed away up the stairs to our room.

"She's so nosy!" complained Ron. Harry nodded his head in agreement.

"She's just trying to make sure we don't lose any points," I reasoned. "She did get us some in Transfiguration for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Yeah, but every time we turn around, there she is," said Harry.

"She's not as bad as y'all are making her out to be. Sure, she's bossy, a know-it-all, stiff-"

"Brooke, you're not helping," I cut her off.

"Right," she continued "But she's also sweet, caring, and hard-working."

"I don't know who you're talking about, but I don't think its Hermione Granger," said Ron.

"She's never once, been 'sweet' to me," Harry said, using air quotes.

"You haven't exactly given her a chance though, have you?" said Brooke.

"She hasn't exactly presented one," replied Harry.

"Ugh! Y'all are so stubborn!" I exclaimed. Honestly, they couldn't see past the ends of their noses!

"I think I'm going to hit the hay," said Brooke standing up. "I'd like to get some sleep before tonight."

We headed up to our room and I set my alarm clock for 11:20 so we could meet Harry and Ron down in the common room. After a short amount of sleep, the alarm went off. I had to turn it low so the other girls didn't hear. I woke up Brooke and we walked down to the common room.

It was dark and the only sources of light were the moon shining through the window and the fire embers dying in the fireplace.

"Ron. Harry." Brooke whispered into the darkness.

"We're over here." It was Harry's voice coming from the portrait hole. Brooke and I tiptoed over to them and then we all jumped when a light flicked on in the room. Turning around, Hermione was sitting in an armchair, in a pink bathrobe, with her arms folded. Busted.

"I can't believe you're doing this."

"Go back to bed!" Ron whispered harshly.

"I almost told Percy! He's a prefect he'd put a stop to this!"

"Come on," Harry said angrily. He ushered us through the hole and we heard it close behind us. "Don't you care about anyone but yourselves?" Hermione continued. I jumped at the sound of her voice. I hadn't expected her to follow us through.

"Go away!" Ron seethed.

"Fine! Suit yourselves!" She turned around to go back through, but the Fat Lady was no longer in her portrait.

"Ugh! What am I supposed to do?" she asked, rather aggravated.

"Not our problem," said Harry.

"What the heck are you two wearing?!" Ron was giving us a horrified look.

Now that we were out in the corridor, there were plenty of windows with the moonlight shining through, so we could see each other fairly clearly.

"Um, pajamas. What else would we be wearing?" I asked. Brooke had on a tiger onesie complete with a hood with ears and a tail.

"I get what Brooke's supposed to be, but what about you?" he asked.

"I'm offended Ronald McDonald! I'm obviously a Pikachu!" I scoffed. I had on a bright yellow Pikachu onesie with a hood and tail. I was adorable!

"You like?" asked Brooke. Both of us began posing like we were models.

"Oh, I know what that is!" said Harry. "Pokémon right? Dudley was really into it for a while, but then he got mad that he lost a card game to one of his friends and he tore up all of his cards."

"What a waste!" I said shocked. "Tearing up perfectly good Pokémon cards."

"I don't know what this Poke Your Mama rubbish is, but are going to the duel or not?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Yes, yes! Don't get your undercrackers in a knot!" I said.

"Well, I'm going with you!" said Hermione.

"You've got a lot of nerve!" replied Ron. We were walking down the corridor now.

"Well, I'm not staying out here by myself!" she said.

"If you get us caught, I'm going to curse you as soon as I learn how!" replied Ron.

"Everyone, shut up!" Harry suddenly went still and all was quiet expect for a small sniffing noise. He peaked his head around a corner and swiftly moved it back.

"It's Mrs. Norris," he whispered. "What are we going to do?"

"I got this." Brooke stepped forward, flipped her hood over her head, and got on all fours.

"Are you an idot?!" hissed Ron.

"Watch and learn, Ronald," I grinned confidently.

Brooke crawled around the corner imitating a cat. I leaned across Harry and peaked around. Mrs. Norris was looking straight at her. He red eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she didn't rush off like she usually did to go inform Filch. Brooke had her confused.

Brooke crawled toward her, meowing, and Mrs. Norris backed up, unsure of what this new creature was. Brooke drove her into another hall and Mrs. Norris hissed and slashed at paw at her defense. Deciding she'd had enough, Mrs. Norris took off down the hall.

"I'm stunned that actually worked," Hermione said to Brooke.

"Y'all are gonna learn not to doubt my skills," she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "These pajamas serve another purpose, besides looking fabulous." Ron and Harry snorted.

"I'm sure she ran off to get Filch," I said. "We'd better hurry up and get to the trophy room before he comes wheezing after us."

We snuck quietly up to the third floor and entered into the trophy room. The trophies were shimmering with the reflection of the moon.

"Guess Malfoy's not here yet," said Harry, looking around for the blonde imp.

"Bet he chickened out," said Ron.

"He's too proud for that," said Brooke.

I walked around the room while we waited and looked at all of the different trophies. They were mostly for Quidditch and the House Cup, but some of them were for the house chess teams. There was even a Gobstones team. One particular plaque, however, caught my eye.

"Harry, come here!" I said excitedly.

"What?" he asked, walking over.

"Look at this trophy!" I pointed. He squinted his eyes and then widened them. On the plague of the trophy it said:

 **Gryffindor**

 **Chaser**

 **James Potter**

"Blimey, Harry, is that your dad?" Ron said looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah…" he said in disbelief.

"It's no wonder you're so good with a broom," said Hermione. "It's in your blood."

"What was that?" Brooke said, tensing up.

"Did you find them yet, my pet," whispered a gravelly voice. It was Filch! Mrs. Norris had found him! He sure was fast, for an old man with a limp.

"Run!" Brooke mouthed frantically. All five of us bolted out of the room and down a hall filled with suits of armor. We could here Filch in the distance huffing behind us. He must've heard our hurried footsteps.

I looked behind and I could see the light of a lantern shining from the trophy room. Panicking and not watching where I was going, I tripped and fell straight into a suit of armor. It was loud enough that there was no way he hadn't heard it. I wouldn't be surprised the whole castle had heard it.

"We're getting close!" Filch huffed. I could hear the beat of my heart resonating in my eardrums and kicked the armor off of me. Hermione turned back and helped me off the floor and we followed the others down the hall. Rounding the corner, Harry accidently slid into a tapestry and disappeared.

"In here!" said Brooke. We followed through the tapestry and ended up in a secret passageway. It wouldn't be unusual for Hogwarts to have a few. How else would Fred and George get around?

There was not a shred of light in the passageway. We had to feel along the stone walls to find our way out. The end of the passageway brought us out by the Charms classroom, which was well on the other side of school.

"I'll-need to keep-this in mind-for when I'm late-to class," I said trying to catch my breath.

"Malfoy tricked you, you know," said Hermione, clutching her chest. "How else would Filch know someone was going to be in the trophy room?" Hermione was right. He probably didn't even follow Mrs. Norris to where we were. He'd already been tipped off that we'd be in the trophy room. Malfoy didn't have any intention of coming at all. I need to learn some curses and hexes.

"We need to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Brooke. We didn't even begin walking when Peeves came through the door of the Charms classroom. Oh. Crap.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he grinned mischievously.

"Peeves, please don't say anything," I pleaded.

"Ickle firsties out of bed. Naughty, naughty you'll get caughty." He cackled loudly and sucked in a deep breath. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

"You stupid-!" Ron took a swing at him, and Peeves swooped down the corridor yelling.

Harry grabbed Ron by his arm and we ran all the way to the end of the corridor and into a door. Harry attempted to open it but it was locked tight.

"We're dead," I said, throwing my hands up in defeat. "We're going to get kicked out of school, and have to live under bridges like mole people and get money by doing magic tricks at children's parties."

"Stop being so dramatic," snapped Hermione pushing past us. She pointed her wand at the lock. " _Alohomora."_ The lock clicked, she opened the door, and we scrambled inside. I panted look around the room as the others pressed their ears against the door.

What I saw, I couldn't have imagined in my wildest dreams. An enormous dog, with three heads was sleeping in front of me. It moved its heads up and one of them yawned showing off its very large teeth. Just one tooth was as big as my arm. Its six eyes blinked sleepily as it tried to focus on what was in front of it.

I was frozen in fear, I couldn't move, no matter how I screamed at my body to do so. I also didn't want to startle it. Any sudden movements and it would attack. I had to at least try get the others attention while it was still slightly asleep. I breathed out slowly and raised my voice, in a low whisper.

"Guys,"

"Shh," said Ron, in a not so quiet whisper. "Filch and Peeves are almost gone."

"Guys, please look," I said with a bit more panic in my voice. My blood was running cold and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"What are you going on abo-, " Ron froze midsentence as he turned around to look at me. His mouth hung open and all that escaped was a mild squeak.

"No one, move," he whispered to the others. The dog was now focused and alert. Saliva dripped from its now growling mouths. The only reason it hadn't attacked us yet was that we had caught it by surprise, but it wouldn't be long until that initial shock wore off.

The others turned around and halted all movement.

"Kristin, you're the expert with animals. What do we do?" whispered Brooke. I was at a loss. I had never seen anything like this before. I found myself wanting a giant bone to throw to it.

"I'm going to try and open the door, very slowly," whispered Hermione. She turned the doorknob and once it clicked, it's like a light switch flicked on. The dog let out several booming barks and rushed toward us. We screamed and scurried out the door. We tried to close the door but one its heads smashed into it knocking us back onto the floor. One, growling head was now sticking through the door.

Adrenaline was coursing through my veins and I found that I was at least able to move around despite the fear. We couldn't force that thing's head through the door. I had to come up with something quick. I gripped my wand in my hand and pointed it straight at the dog's face.

" _INCENDIO!"_ Flames erupted from the end of my wand and hit the dog in the face. It whimpered loudly and backed up into the corridor, pawing at its face. Harry, Ron, Brooke, and Hermione took the chance and rushed to close the door.

No one said a word and we bolted down corridor after corrido, staircase after staircase. We didn't stop until we reached the Fat Lady's portrait on the seventh floor.

"Where on EARTH have you been?!" she exclaimed looking at our disheveled appearances. We were sweaty, out of breath and Harry, Ron, and Hermione's bathrobes were falling off of them.

"Never mind that," gasped Harry. "Caput Draconis." The portrait swung forward and we scrambled inside. Harry, Hermione, and Brooke fell into the furniture, but Ron and I didn't even make it that far. We just fell onto the floor in front of the dying fire. I was so scared I was still shaking from fear, exhaustion, and adrenaline. I breathed heavily as I tried to get my breathing back to normal. None of us spoke for a while, until Brooke finally broke the silence.

"What was that thing?!"

"I think I know," I said. It had come back to me while we were sitting in silence and I could think clearly. "I've never seen pictures and I don't think it even has a name because of its rarity, but I think it's similar to a Cerberus."

"You mean like the one in Greek Mythology?" questioned Hermione. "The one that guards the entrance to the Underworld?"

"The UNDERWORLD?!" gaped Ron.

"Yes, but that's just a myth. It may even be a Cerberus, but no one's ever studied one, or lived to tell the tale. Newt Scamander, a famous Magizoologist, couldn't even find one."

"Who cares what it is!" exclaimed Brooke. "Why would they ever keep one in a school?"

"That was the forbidden corridor," said Harry. "Now we see why it's forbidden."

"If any dog needs exercise, that one does!" said Ron.

"Do none of you use your eyes?" Hermione asked. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?" Brooke looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"I didn't exactly have time to enjoy the scenery, Hermione."

"I was too preoccupied with its heads!" said Harry. Hermione sighed.

"It was standing on a trap door. That means it was guarding something."

"Wait, wait," said Harry. "What if it's guarding whatever Hagrid picked up from Gringotts? He said the only safer place than Gringotts to hide something was Hogwarts."

"I think it's plausible," I said. "Hagrid picked up the package from Gringotts to bring to Hogwarts and that same day someone tries to break into that exact vault. An important package like that, they're not just going to leave lying around. They would keep it locked up tight."

"Did Hagrid say anything else about it, Harry?" asked Brooke.

"He said he was picking it up for Dumbledore and it was very secret."

"I don't think anyone in their right mind, would try to steal it with that dog there," said Ron.

"No one thought that anyone would try and rob Gringotts, either," said Hermione.

"Well, even if they did try to steal it, I don't think they'd come away uninjured. That dog's not going to let anyone pass without a fight," I said.

Everything surrounding this little package just made me want to know what it was even more. The break in, the secrets, and the dog. Dumbledore wanted to make sure no one was getting to that thing. And I'd put my money on it that the dog isn't the only thing guarding it. Going through all of this to make sure it stays hidden, it was bound to have some powerful magic protecting it.

Hermione stood up and walked to the foot of the girl's staircase.

"Well, I'm going to bed, before any of you get us killed, or worse, _expelled_." She turned her back and marched up the stairs.

"She needs to sort out her priorities," Ron said.

"Well, it's not like we can do anything about this mysterious package," said Brooke, standing up as well. "After all, Dumbledore's here and he's not going to let anyone just waltz out of the castle with it."

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.

"Or both," added Harry.

"Like Brooke said, there's not much we can do about it and we'd have to have more clues to even begin to know what it is. There's no point in worrying about it now," I said, standing up as well. "We're going to go ahead and go to bed. We're going to already be tired tomorrow from lack of sleep," stated Brook.

We left the boys on the couch and walked up the staircase into our room. Hermione was already asleep in her bed, and I just fell on top of mine. The adrenaline dump hit me like a sack of potatoes. I felt like a big bowl of mush. I didn't even have the energy to crawl under the covers. I closed my eyes and immediately fell asleep.


	10. Year 1: The Neville Longbottom Fan Club

"Morning," yawned Brooke, at the breakfast table.

"Morning," Harry and Ron both chimed.

It was the morning after our encounter with the three-headed dog and Brooke and I had to force ourselves out of bed. We were exhausted, but we didn't want to miss breakfast either. It was Saturday though, so I would be free to come back to bed and take a nap if I wanted.

"I see Hermione's not acknowledging us," said Harry, nodding in the curly-headed girl's direction. Hermione purposely had her back turned to us and was holding a conversation with Neville. She had decided not to speak to us at all because of last night. I guess she thought we were bad influences or something of the sort. I couldn't argue with her there.

"Well, I think she's being a big overdramatic about it," I said. "Sure, we almost got mauled to death, but she didn't have to follow us out of the portrait hole."

"We're finally seeing eye to eye," said Ron.

"I wouldn't say that exactly," I countered. "I still like Hermione, but if she's not going to speak to me out of spite, then I'll oblige her request." Brooke just shook her head at my bout of immaturity.

"I see Malfoy's not too happy we're still here," she said, nodding to the seething blonde boy at the Slytherin table. He was steadily glaring in our direction. I smiled and waved at him. He clenched his jaw and looked away.

"He's actually pouting," I laughed.

"Strange how making someone feel angry can feel so good," said Ron.

"Just wait until he sees Harry on the Quidditch pitch," I said.

"I can't wait to shove it in his face," smiled Harry.

"Speaking of Quidditch, Kristin and I have been thinking of doing our own club," said Brooke.

"The Neville Longbottom Fan Club?" said Harry. "You realize you're just embarrassing Neville, right?"

"Nonsense!" I replied, with a wave of my hand "We actually spoke to Professor McGonagall about it. She said we just needed to have at least five members and then submit the idea to Professor Dumbledore," I explained.

"Speaking of members…" Brooke looked at Harry and Ron. She slapped a piece of paper down in front of them that read: _Members_. Neville's name had already been written down.

"Don't even think about it!" argued Ron. "Fred and George would never let me live that down!"

"I won't have time with Quidditch," Harry said, avoiding eye contact. A convenient excuse.

"So what are your club activities going to be?" asked Harry.

"We were thinking of making it a sort of study group," I replied. "Helping Neville, is the main focus of course, but it'd be nice to get help with the subjects I'm not strong in."

"So why don't you just change the name then?"

"Because Neville's adorable that's why."

"You realize boys don't like being referred to as 'adorable,' right?"

"I'm well aware." Harry just shook his head in defeat and took a bite of his toast and jelly.

"Ron, I'm surprised you haven't joined the Gryffindor Chess Team," said Brooke. "You're so good at it."

"I didn't know there was one."

"It was on the announcement board in the common room."

"I didn't know there was one of those, either."

"Oh my word. Well before I die of brain damage from Ron, I think I'm going to go recruit Devin for the club," I said.

Harry and Brooke both laughed.

"He's never going to join," grinned Harry. "Not with that name."

"Then, I just won't tell him the name," I replied.

"I'll get Jeremiah to join, as well," said Brooke.

I trotted off to the Slytherin table and sat next to Devin (much to the Slytherins' disdain), who had a whole waffle halfway crammed into his piehole.

"You going for some sort of record?" I asked. He choked and spluttered until the waffle was dislodged.

"Just hungry," he replied as if he hadn't just hadn't just nearly died from a pastry.

I heard a loud, shrill cackle and looked to see Pansy absolutely beside herself at something Malfoy had said. I'm sure it wasn't that funny. I saw she looked at Devin out of the corner of her eye, then back at Malfoy. Hmm.

She must've noticed me, however, because the next moment she whirled her head around to look at me.

"What are YOU doing here?!" she accused. "Come to visit your boyfriend?" I guess she was referring to Devin, because all of the other boys in Slytherin had already proved themselves unworthy of my affection. Not that they would ask for it anyways.

Getting a sly idea, I wrapped my arms around Devin's and leaned my head against his shoulder.

"Why, yes, as a matter of fact I am!" I bat my eyelashes. Pansy looked absolutely appalled and Devin looked confused, but quickly caught on.

"I didn't tell you Pansy?" I let out a giggle that was louder than necessary. "We just couldn't stand to stay away from each other any longer." She looked furious and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. She quickly turned away and leaned across Malfoy to whisper to one of the Slytherin girls.

"She's been giving me trouble all week," he said unlinking our arms.

"Oh, you mean the fact that she likes you?" I asked with a grin.

"How'd you know?" he asked, surprised.

"She was looking at you while laughing at Malfoy. She's trying to make you jealous."

He scoffed. "Of what? She likes both of us."

My jaw dropped. "She likes BOTH of you?"

"Yep. I guess I'm just irresistible. I do have a new 'girlfriend' after all." He waggled his eyebrows and I laughed.

"Oh, you're so full it!" I noticed Pansy was looking back over at us now and she snapped at Crabbe when he tried to tell her something.

Honestly, it was a shock to me that Pansy liked Devin at all, considered his status of being a muggle-born. Maybe she liked the danger aspect of being rebellious. Maybe she liked him just for his looks. Maybe it was both. A girl like pansy would have a very shallow reason for liking someone. She probably only liked Malfoy because of his heritage, looks, and wealth. I ain't she's a gold digger, but…

"So, did you need to tell me something?" Devin asked, interrupting my thoughts. He had resumed eating his waffle.

"Yeah! I have a proposition for you." He looked skeptical, but didn't say anything. "How would you like to join a study group Brooke and I are creating?"

"Just a normal study group? Nothing out of the ordinary?"

"…yes"

"You hesitated."

"No, I didn't."

He narrowed his eyes. "Uh huh. When's the first meeting?"

"We were actually thinking about 10 o'clock. We could meet in the stone circle down by Hagrid's hut. It's a pretty day and it'd be nice and quiet."

"Who else is coming?"

"Jeremiah and Neville. Harry's busy and Ron's….well Ron doesn't like to study does he?"

"I don't have anything else to do this morning anyway. We'll half to be done by 1:00, though. Jeremiah and I are meeting Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot in the Ravenclaw common room."

"We'll be done before lunch. Well I'll see you there in a little while." I got up and walked back over to the Gryffindor table. The piece of paper still lay on the table and I wrote Devin's name under Neville's.

"He wasn't suspicious at all?" asked Ron.

"He was, but he agreed anyways."

"What a brave soul."

"Ha. Ha."

Brooke came back soon after I did and she wrote Jeremiah's name below Devin's.

"Now we have five members!" she said happily. "We can take this to Professor McGonagall later in the afternoon."

"Hey, what's that?!" We craned our heads to see what Ron was pointing at. It was a large, long brown package being carried by several screech owls plus Hedwig. The package had garnered most of the Great Hall's attention as it was dropped onto the table in front of Harry. Ron cursed as his pumpkin juice was knocked to the floor. The owls flew off and Harry took the note that was tied to the package.

"Who's it from?" questioned Brooke. Harry's eyes moved back and forth, reading the note. When he'd finished reading he leaned in close, so just the four of us could hear.

"It's from Professor McGonagall," he said in amazement. "She says it's a Nimbus Two-Thousand and not to open it until we get in the common room."

Ron's mouth fell open. "Harry, that's the fastest broom on the market!"

"I just….how….what?" Harry was at a loss for words. It was incredible that McGonagall had bought this for him. It was worth at least 300 Galleons, if not more. It'd put a sizable dent in anyone's bank account.

"Well, what are we waiting for?!" whispered Brooke. "Let's go and open it!"

Harry seized the package and we bolted out of the Great Hall. We were halfway up the Grand Staircase when two large boys blocked our path. Crabbe and Goyle. Ugh. Just perfect. They smiled mischievously and Malfoy squeezed between them.

"What've you got there, Potter?" He snatched the package from Harry and roamed his hands all over it. He frowned and threw the package back at Harry, causing him to nearly fall backwards. I reached out my hand to steady him.

"That's a broomstick." He tried to mask his jealousy and spite behind a sneer. "You'll be in for it now, Potter! First Year's aren't allowed brooms."

"That's not just any old broomstick!" replied Ron. He couldn't help, but try and one-up Malfoy. "That's a Nimbus Two-Thousand. What did you say you've got at home? A Comet Two-Sixty? Comet's look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

Malfoy's jaw clenched and he stepped closer to Ron. "What would you know about it Weasley? Your family couldn't afford half the handle! I bet you have to save up twig by twig!"

Brooke quickly stepped between Malfoy and Ron. "Money's not everything you arrogant jerk! You wouldn't know a hard day's work if it bit you in the-"

"Not arguing I hope?" interrupted a small voice. Professor Flitwick was walking down the stairs and had come to a stop by Goyle's elbow. Malfoy and Brooke glared at each other, before she reluctantly stepped back.

I wanted to hit him so bad. I made a vow to myself that I wouldn't hold Devin back from it anymore. Sometimes a person needed a good butt kicking to bring them down a level.

"Potter's got a broomstick, Professor!" Malfoy said quickly, pointing at the package in Harry's arms. So not only was he a jerk, but he was a tattle-tale too! I didn't know I could dislike someone this much.

"Yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick. He smiled at Harry. "Professor McGonagall's told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. What model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two-Thousand, Sir. It's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it." The look of horror on Malfoy's face was priceless. We really needed to get that camera from Fred and George. It was a perfect shot.

"Excellent! Well, have a good Saturday!" Professor Flitwick headed down the stairs and Malfoy just stood there frozen.

"Carful, Malfoy, or your face will get stuck like that!" Brooke winked. We walked up the stairs guffawing.

"Harry, I love how sassy you are all the time!" I laughed.

"Sometimes, Malfoy just makes it easy," he replied. "But it's true. If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall, I never would have made it on the team."

"I guess he can be useful sometimes," said Brooke.

When we got to Gryffindor Tower we hustled upstairs to the boy's dormitory. It was exactly like ours, except for the smell.

"What's that smell?" Brooke pinched her nose in disgust.

"They're boys," I stated simply.

"Seamus has a habit of not washing his socks," said Harry placing the broom on the bed.

"Um, why?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Laziness?"

"Like I said. They're boys." I replied.

Ron, to impatient to wait, quickly unwrapped the package. The brown paper fell to the sides and revealed a beautiful broomstick. Its hazel handle was polished so perfectly that my face was reflected on its wood. The bristles had been smoothed together in a sleek design for more aerodynamic control. The stirrups were made of brass and were very sturdy. All in all it was a perfect broom _made_ for Quidditch.

Harry ran his hand up and down the handle admiring its design and touched the words written on the end of the handle in gold. _Nimbus 2000._ Ron had yet to pick his mouth off of the floor.

"Harry, you've got to let me ride it sometime." I said.

"Me too! Me too!" Brooke said excitedly.

"I'll let all of you ride it, but not today. The note said Wood wants to meet with me tonight and I'm going to Hagrid's this afternoon." Brooke looked at Harry with curiosity in her eyes.

"Do you mind us going with you to meet Hagrid?" I had to admit. I was curious too, especially after last night. There was always the chance that he might let something slip.

"Sure, I'd love to introduce you."

"Well, we'd better get going. We're meeting the others in a little bit." I said. "You sure you don't want to come along?"

"Definitely not!" Ron said quickly.

"Well, geez, Ron. You don't have to be so enthusiastic about it," said Brooke, with her hands on her hips.

"See you guys later!" I waved.

Brooke and I gathered our books from our room and headed down towards the stone circle. The cool wind whipped my hair in front of my face and I nearly tripped walking down the grassy, stone steps.

Neville was waiting in front of one of the stones watching Trevor hop around on the ground.

"Hi, Neville!" I chirped.

"Hey," he replied.

I sat down in the grass and spread my books out in front of me. There were very few people that came this way seeing as how the only sights were Hagrid's vegetable garden and the Forbidden Forest.

This was really my first time to really take the time and look at the forest. The trees were very tall and the sun was shining through the trees, highlighting the green of the leaves. It didn't look so scary to me. Then again, who knows what it was filled with. This was a magical school after all. I wouldn't be surprised if it was some time of sanctuary for magical creatures to live peacefully.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft foot prints on grass. Devin and Jeremiah were walking over to us.

"Oh, you're here too Neville?" asked Jeremiah. Neville nodded as Devin and Jeremiah sat down in the grass. I stood up to address the small group.

"Thank you all for coming. Welcome to the first official meeting of the Neville Longbottom Fan Club," I announced proudly.

"Hold up!" exclaimed Devin. "You didn't say anything about-"

"Our first official business will be to nominate a club President. I nominate Brooke! All in favor?" I raised my hand along with Neville. Devin and Jeremiah looked at each other in silent conversation. They both raised their hands, having resigned themselves to their fate.

"Right then, President Brooke, care to say a few words?" Brooke stood up next to me.

"As you may know by the name of the club, we are here for Neville. We are here to help boost his confidence as well as his grades."

"I'd like to boost both of you into the sky," muttered Jeremiah.

"There will be no sass, Mr. Pritchard," she scolded. "This club will be beneficial to everyone, as well. We all have different aspects we're good at and so we will use those aspects to help one another in school."

"So if it's a study group like you say, then why is it called the Neville Longbottom Fan Club? Why can't we just have a normal sounding name?" asked Devin.

"Because Neville is adorable, that's why," she snapped.

"Do you have to call me adorable?" asked Neville, rather embarrassed by the endearment.

"Would you rather I called you 'cuddly'?"

"…..no."

"Alright, then. My first order of business is to nominate Kristin for Vice-President." I stood up and gave a deep bow.

"I'll serve you well."

"Now, then. Shall we get started? Neville, you're having a lot of trouble in Potions right?"

"Yeah. Professor Snape just makes me so nervous. He's always hovering over me. It's like he's waiting for me to make a mistake."

"I have noticed he's pretty biased when it comes to Gryffindors." said Devin. "Is he like that with y'all, Jeremiah?"

"Not really, I mean he's hard on everyone, but he's never treated any of us worse than the other."

"Maybe it's worse because the Slytherin's are in the class." Brooke mentioned. "He definitely favors them over anyone."

"Yeah, I've never had a problem with him," said Devin. "I'm usually teamed up with Hermione, so usually if any part of our potion goes wrong, he's quick to blame her and ignores me completely."

"Well, aside from Snape's obvious disdain toward Gryffindors, I think we should focus more on the theory for now," said Brooke.

"I think a good place to begin would be the ingredients," added Jeremiah. "If we know which ingredient causes certain things to happen, then I think it'll be easier for us to apply that knowledge to the potions."

"I get what you're saying," said Neville. "So, say you wanted to make a Laughing Potion. You would most likely use the leaves from the Alihotsy plant."

All of us stared at him in silent shock.

"How'd you know that?" I questioned.

"I like Herbology," he shrugged.

"That's brilliant Neville!" squealed Brooke. "I bet if you applied your knowledge of Herbology to Potions then you'd be great!"

"That still doesn't help the fact that he's scared stiff of Snape," said Devin, picking at a blade of grass.

"He just needs a confidence boost then!" I said.

"I think it's more than that," began Jeremiah. "I think he needs to learn to focus his attention on a set task instead of what's around him."

"Blimey, it's no wonder you were put in Ravenclaw," said Neville. He was right. Jeremiah was very observant of people. He was able to figure out that McGonagall was an animagus before anyone else had. Honestly, I hadn't even considered the possibility. Of course, things usually tend fly over my head anyways. Heh.

"So what do you think we should do then?" I asked. Jeremiah thought for a minute.

"I've got an idea. Everyone stand up, except for Neville." We did as he said and Jeremiah grabbed Neville's potions book and flipped through it. He stopped on a page and handed the book back to Neville.

"The Cure for Boils?" Neville gave him a quizzical look.

"That was the first potion we learned and I think Devin said that this was the first one you messed up. What I want you to do is try and memorize that potion."  
"Seems easy enough."

"However," continued Jeremiah. "The rest of us will walk around you, taunting you like Snape would."

"I get it!" said Brooke. "If he can memorize the potion, then that means he's successfully tuned us out. Which also means, he'd be able to tune Snape out!"

"Exactly!" he said happily.

"Wow, Jeremiah. That's an awesome idea!" I said.

"I try," he shrugged. "Devin do you have your watch? I forgot mine."

"Yeah," said Devin holding up the watch on his wrist.

"Set it for two minutes. That should give him enough time to memorize it. When the two minutes are up, we'll test your knowledge to see how well you did."

Devin set his watch and started it. We walked around Neville in a wide circle, occasionally one of us would look over his shoulder, as Snape would. I lowered my voice to try and sound like Snape.

"Longbottom, you're a failure as a wizard. How did you ever get into Hogwarts?"

"Longbottom, for you're incompetence I'm taking away five thousand points from Gryffindor," said Brooke. I stopped in my tracks.

"Isn't five thousand a little excessive?" I asked her.

"Yes, but this is Snape we're talking about. If it was possible, he would definitely do it." I nodded in agreement.

Devin's watch beeped, letting us know that time was up.

"Let's see how you did," said Jeremiah. He took the book from Neville and read along has he tried to recite the potion.

"First you…..um…..you crush six snake fangs…" Neville looked at Jeremiah for approval. He nodded for him to continue.

"Then you put the crushed fangs into the cauldron,"

"Wrong!" Neville jumped at Jeremiah's outburst. "You have to add four measures of the snake fangs. Let's do it again." Wow, Jeremiah was a harsh teacher.

We berated Neville again until the time was up, and he recited the instructions again.

"First you crush the snake fangs, then you add _four measures_ to the cauldron. Then, you heat the mixture to 250 degrees for ten seconds. After that…um…I can't remember…" He looked down in shame.

"That was great Neville!" praised Brooke.

"Really?" he asked.  
"Yeah! You remembered a lot more than last time!" Neville grinned proudly at his accomplished task.

The drill was repeated several more times until Neville was finally able to recite the entire potion without flaw.

"I can't believe I actually, did it!" Neville grinned.

"You're brilliant, Neville!" exclaimed Brooke clapping him on the back. "So, what subject should we tackle next?"

"I'd like some help with Defense Against the Dark Arts," I said. "Charms are easy enough for me, but defensive and offensive spells, not so much."

"I can help you with that," said Devin. "The thing about offensive and defensive spells is that you have to really put some force into them. The more magic you force into them, the more affective they'll be."

"That's the opposite of charms then," I said. "In charms you have to relax and let your magic flow out evenly. If you put in too much, or too little, then they won't be affective."

"Then that means you just need to put more strength into your spells then," said Jeremiah thoughtfully. "You're treating them as if they're the same as charms, so you're holding back your magic."

"Exactly," said Devin. "I think The Smokescreen Spell would be perfect for you to learn then, if you're so good with charms. It's kind of an in-between for charms and defensive magic, so it'll be a good transition. It's more of a tactical spell, so while you'll need to put in more effort, you'll also need to keep it balanced for the smoke to distribute evenly. Watch me."

Devin held his wand aloft and pointed it at one of the stones. " _Fumos."_ Gray smoke flowed from the tip of his wand and enveloped the stone. I had to admit, I was impressed.

"See? It's easy enough. Now you try it."

I turned to a stone and pointed my wand at it. I let out a breath and felt the warmth of my magic in my veins. I concentrated more of it than usual, into my wand arm and pushed it through to my wand. " _Fumos_."

A small stream of smoke poured from the tip and crept slowly toward the stone to halfway surround it.

"That's good," praised Devin. "Just put more of your magic into it and you'll have it down."

"I did it!" exclaimed Neville, jumping for joy. I looked next to me and saw his stone had been fully engulfed in smoke.

"I guess I'll just need more practice," I sighed.

"Practice makes perfect," Jeremiah said, reiterating the old saying.

"You know this spell is pretty useful," Brooke said, playing with Neville's smoke, with her wand.

"Like I said, it's a tactical spell. It's great for if you need a quick cover to get away or something," Devin explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't use this in some of the raids Mr. Weasley talked about."

The way Devin spoke of defensive and offensive magic caught me off guard. He spoke about it like it was an extension of his own physical strength. It came very naturally to him. It reminded me of the way Jeremiah observed people, like he had with Neville. I had assumed it was a confidence issue, but Jeremiah had seen past that and figured out it was also a focus-based issue.

Brooke also had her ability to empathize with others and see things from their perspective, not just her own. When Ron and I had our little spat, she had known where his prejudice stemmed from. It wasn't because I was a girl, it was because he saw me as he saw Ginny.

I silently wondered if I had some special gift as well. Devin had his strength of mind, Jeremiah had his observations, and Brooke had her empathy. But what did I have? Why did the Sorting hat put me in Gryffindor? It did say that I had all the qualities of a Hufflepuff, but it put me in Gryffindor anyway. Maybe it had seen something in me that I hadn't seen in myself.

I pushed the thoughts from my mind and tuned back in to the conversation in front of me.

"Maybe this club wasn't such a bad idea, after all," admitted Jeremiah.

"Y'all just act like Kristin and I are a couple of morons," said Brooke.

"Well, if the shoe fits," shrugged Devin. Jeremiah and Neville laughed and Brooke aimed a kick at Devin. He caught her foot, twisted her around, and pushed her forward onto the ground.

"Stupid head!" she shouted.

"So, since all three of you agree that this club wasn't a terrible idea, should we meet here every Saturday?" I suggested.

"I don't have a problem with it," said Neville.

"Good. Then it's settled then." I grabbed Devin's wrist to look at his watch. "Looks like it's nearly time for lunch. I guess that'll be it for today."

"See you guys later," said Jeremiah. He and Devin walked off toward the Great Hall. Neville, Brooke, and I gathered up our books and headed up to Gryffindor Tower to drop them off.

"I really appreciate you guys doing this," said Neville, as we walked down the corridor to the Fat Lady. "My Gran means well, but she can put a lot of pressure on me when it comes to school."

"But we've only been here a week," said Brooke.

"I know, but look what's happened. I've already melted Seamus's cauldron, had a bad case of boils, and a teacher hates me." He looked down at his shoes as he walked.

"Snape hates everyone," I countered. "But that's what we're here for Neville. Friends help each other out and pick each other up. You can always depend on us." Neville smiled sheepishly and gained a pep in his stepped as we entered the portrait hole.

We put our books away and walked down to the Great Hall. Neville branched off from us and sat by Dean and Seamus, while Brooke and I joined Harry and Ron.

"How'd the meeting go?" asked Harry.

"It actually went really well," replied Brooke. She grabbed a couple of sandwiches and placed them on her plate. "We gained some progress on curing Neville of his Snape phobia."

"You're kidding?" asked a surprised Ron. "How'd you do that?" Brooke and I explained to them about Jeremiah's idea and the results it produced.

"Wow, no wonder Jeremiah's in Ravenclaw," said Harry.

"That's what Neville said!" I replied. "And Devin helped me with Defense Against the Dark Arts. I even learned a new spell. Well, halfway learned it. I'll need to keep practicing it."

Once lunch was finished we walked across the grounds, past the stone circle (the smoke had now dissipated), and to Hagrid's hut. It was a small stone building with moss covering the roof. Different tools were strewn about along the walls and a small shed sat nearby. To the right of the hut there was a large garden with pumpkins growing to rather alarming sizes.

Harry knocked on the door and a booming bark, followed by the sound of a scuffle, could be heard on the other side of the door.

"Back, Fang! Back!" rang Hagrid's voice.

"I think I'm having flashbacks," said Ron. He took a step back.

"Shh," I said. "And don't mention anything about that dog. We don't want to get in trouble for it."

Hagrid opened the door to let us in, and was struggling to keep a hold on the collar of a black Great Dane. Once inside Hagrid let loose of his collar and he bounded over toward Ron, furiously licking his face.

"Gross," said Ron, trying to guard his face from Fang's pink tongue. He had so much saliva in his hair it was sticking up every which way. I made a mental note to stay away from Ron until he'd had a proper bath.

"Sorry 'bout that," said Hagrid. "He's jus' excited. Don' get ter many visitors, 'cept fer Dumbledore."

The inside of Hagrid's home consisted of one large room. Different animals hung from the ceiling, ready to be skinned, and a kettle was hung in the fireplace. In the corner of the room near the fireplace, sat a large bed with a quilted blanket. All in all, I thought it looked quite cozy.

"Don' be shy, make yerselves at home." Hagrid motioned us to a couch and a massive armchair. We sat down and Hagrid sat a plate of brown cakes, that looked hard as rocks, and several cups of tea onto the table in front of us.

"Harry, why don' yer introduce me ter yer friends?"

"Oh, yeah. This is Ron, Kristin, and Brooke."

"If Devin were here, he'd have a fit," I whispered to Brooke, who giggled silently.

"Nice ter meet ya. So, how's yer firs' week going so far?" asked Hagrid.

"So far, so good," answered Harry.

"Any subject yer good at?" Hagrid directed to all of us.

"Well, I'm pretty good with Charms," I answered. "Harry's good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Brooke's great at Transfiguration. Ron is….well he's good at Wizard's Chess."

"Oi!" Ron looked rather offended.

"Well, if you'd learn to apply yourself more!" said Brooke.

"I apply myself just fine!" he argued back.

"Yeah, that's why you're doing so wonderfully in Potions."

"That's because Snape has it out for anyone who's not in Slytherin." We couldn't disagree with him there. Any chance Snape had of making our lives miserable, he took it. At first I thought maybe he was just incredibly strict, but I was wrong. He didn't hesitate to show favoritism to the Slytherins.

"Nonsense," Hagrid disagreed. "Professor Snape may be strict, but he ain't got it out fer anyone."

"Well I think he _really_ hates me," said Harry glumly.

"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" Harry couldn't think of a response.

"Maybe it's just because you're in the spotlight, more than everyone else," suggested Brooke. "Maybe he thinks you're full of it and wants to bring you down a notch."

"He did call you a 'celebrity' during our first lesson," said Ron. "That must be it." That seemed like a pretty valid explanation to me. Harry and Snape had never even met before. What connection could they possibly have with each other?

"I'll tell you one thing that's annoying, though," I said, changing the subject. "Filch."

"Can't disagree with yer there," said Hagrid. "That old git's got it out fer me. Every time I go up ter the castle that bloody cat o' his follows me around everywhere. I'd like to introduce her to Fang sometime." We laughed and Fang's head shot up at the mention of his name. Hagrid turned to look at Brooke and I.

"So, yer American witches, eh? What brings ya to Hogwarts?"

"Well, our older siblings went to Ilvermorny, but Brooke and I wanted to travel abroad." I answered. "She wanted to see the world and honestly, I really wanted to go to school with Ron." Ron suddenly found a string on the armchair of great interest.

"So you're families got connections with the Weasley's, I'm guessin'?" I nodded and Hagrid looked to Ron. "Spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." Hagrid let out a booming laugh. "Never met two people who could make so much trouble."

"Try living with them," Ron replied.

"So, how's yer brother Charlie? Still studying dragons?"

"Yeah, he's in Romania at the moment studying the Norwegian Ridgeback."

"Beautiful, creatures, dragons. Always wanted one." I spit out my tea.

"Like for a pet?" I asked. "They're too dangerous to try and get close to, let alone train one and keep it as a pet."

"Nonsense," he dismissed. "No one's ever tried have they?" Well yeah, no one's ever tried! You'd get burnt to a crisp! I love learning about dragons, but I'd never be eager to try and raise one! Although, it did sound pretty neat to have a pet dragon. Neat, but plain crazy.

"Did you hear that Harry's on the Quidditch team?!" Ron blurted out of nowhere. Smooth.

"So much for keeping it a secret, huh, Ron?" Brooke shook her head. He looked at her sheepishly and grinned. I wonder how long he'd been holding it in.  
'Blimey, Harry, that's great! Yer dad was on the team, too," said Hagrid.

"Yeah, we saw his name on one of the trophies in the trophy room," Harry replied. After a few moments of talking about Quidditch and Harry's upcoming practices, I noticed Brooke staring at the floor quite intently. I knew when she was silent for this long she was up to something. Although, it was usually one of her outrageous plans.

"So, Hagrid," Brooke began. "Did you see that Gringotts was broken into?" So that's what it was. She was trying to casually figure out what was in that package, without alerting Hagrid that we knew anything. She knew, that he would know that we'd seen it in the _Daily Prophet_ , but she had to be careful not to spill anything more than what was in the article.

Hagrid had gone visibly rigid when she asked the question.

"…I did, yeah," he began carefully. He wouldn't look her in the eyes. Next to me, I saw Harry's eyes light up.

"Yeah, that's the same day we went wasn't it? Same vault too, if I'm not mistaken."

"Well, it's been lovely talkin' ter yeh," Hagrid said standing up and opening up the door. "Got lot's ter do today, so if yeh don' mind." Hagrid quickly shuffled us out the door and promptly shut it behind us.

"He definitely knows something," said Ron. "Did you see the way he acted?"

"Not exactly good at hiding things, is he?" I said.

"I'm glad you brought it up, Brooke," said Harry. "I was trying to figure out how to bring it up myself."

"I think we need to wait a while, before we try and prod him about anything, again," she said. "He shut us down real quick and didn't leave us any wiggle room. But now we know, without a doubt, that the package is something really important."

"What? The dog trying to have us for a midnight snack, didn't ring any bells?" Ron said sarcastically.

"Oh, hush," she shot back.

"Who knows," I said, putting my hands behind me head. "We may never figure out what's in that package."

We walked up the moss eaten stone steps and towards the warmth of the castle.


End file.
